UBRARY 

UNIVERSITY    Of 
CALIFORNIA 


DECORATIVE  ART 


\Ynoi.K  SERIES,   VOL.   \'II. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,  Ym..  \'I. 


MEMOIRS 


American  Museum  of  Natural 

History. 


VOLUME  VII. 


PUBLICATIONS   OF 


THE  JESUP   NORTH   PACIFIC   EXPEDITION. 


I. — The  Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


P,v   ISERTHOLD   LAUFER. 


January,    1902. 


DECORATIVE  AHS 
fcfeerbocfeer  press,  Wew  I 


/w^r 


MEMOIRS 

OF   THE 

AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


The  Jesup  North  Pacific  Expedition. 


I. — THE  DECORATIVE  ART  OF  THE  AMUR  TRIBES. 

BY   BERTIIOI.D  LAUFEK. 
PLATES  I-XXXIII. 

THE  material  published  and  described  in  the  following  pages  was  obtained 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Jesup  North  Pacific  Expedition  during  my  two  years' 
researches  among  the  various  tribes  of  Saghalin  Island  and  the  Amur  region. 

There  is  not  much  literature  as  yet  bearing  on  the  decorative  art  of  these 
tribes.  Schrenck,  in  his  fundamental  work  "  Reisen  und  F"orschungen  im  Amur- 
Lande"  (Vol.  Ill,  pp.  399-401),  makes  a  few  remarks  on  the  subject,  emphasizing 
the  peculiarity  of  the  Gilyak  ornaments,  which  are  totally  different  from  those  of 
all  other  Siberian  peoples.  He  sees  in  them  an  evident  Chinese  influence.  No 
explanations  of  the  ornamental  figures  are  unfolded  in  his  book.  Further,  H. 
Schurtz,  in  his  paper  "  Zur  Ornamentik  der  Aino  "  (Internationales  Archiv  fur 
Ethnographic,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  233-251),  has  considered  to  some  extent  the  orna 
mentation  of  the  Amur  tribes  so  far  as  known  to  him.  It  would  carry  us  too  far 
to  enter  into  a  minute  discussion  of  the  leading  problems  there  treated,  the 
alleged  solution  and  disentanglement  of  which  fall  to  the  ground  when  compared 
with  the  results  of  investigations  in  the  field.  I  must  confess,  I  adhere  to  the 
principle  that  ornaments  should  not  be  regarded  as  enigmas  which  can  be  easily 
puzzled  out  by  the  homely  fireside.  Neither  are  ornaments  of  primitive  tribes 
like  inscriptions,  that  may  be  deciphered  :  they  are  rather  productions  of  their  art, 
which  can  receive  proper  explanation  only  from  the  lips  of  their  creators.  They 
are  comparable  to  modern  symphonic  compositions,  that  are  incomprehensible 
without  the  printed  synopsis  in  the  hands  of  the  auditors.  The  writing  of  such 
guides  can  only  be  accomplished  by  consulting  the  native  artist  as  to  his  own 
fancy  concerning  the  significance  of  the  ornaments  evolved  from  it.  The  hu 
man  and  bear  heads  which  Schurtz  claims  to  have  ferreted  out  exist  not  in  the 

[i] 


M856323 


\ 


2  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART   OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

minds  of  the  natives.  Artistic  representations  of  the  bear  in  wood-carving  are 
limited  to  the  Gilyak,  for  use  at  their  bear-festival.  This  animal,  however,  is 
never  reproduced  in  drawings  or  paintings,  either  in  natural  or  conventional 
form,  according  to  the  verbal  testimony  of  both  the  Gilyak  and  Gold.  Neither 
have  I  myself  discovered  even  a  trace  of  the  bear-heads  suggested  by  Schurtz. 
Of  the  existence  of  his  eye-ornaments,  apparently  a  mere  outcome  of  his  enthu 
siasm,  my  authorities  were  also  entirely  ignorant. 

I  am  under  obligations  to  Professor  A.  Bastian  for  permitting  me  to  take 
advantage  of  those  collections  in  the  Konigliche  Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde  in 
Berlin  which  relate  to  the  Amur  region,  and  which  were  made  by  Captain  A. 
Jacobsen.  I  have  also  to  thank  the  authorities  of  the  Konigliche  Kunstgewerbe 
Museum  in  Berlin  for  placing  at  my  disposal  fourteen  specimens  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  weavings.  These  objects  from  the  two  Berlin  museums  have  been  drawn 
by  Mr.  W.  von  den  Steinen  ;  drawings  for  the  other  illustrations  were  prepared 
by  Mr.  Rudolf  Weber.  A  list  of  plates  is  given  at  the  end. 

HISTORICAL  ASPECT.  —  The  history  of  the  decorative  art  of  the  Amur  tribes 
is  shrouded  in  mystery,  since  no  written  records  give  any  account  of  it ;  never 
theless  we  may  be  able  to  make  some  historical  observations  regarding  its  devel 
opment.  A  comparison  of  the  artistic  material  found  in  my  collections  with  that 
obtained  by  Schrenck  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  and  illustrated  in  his  work 
"  Reisen  und  Forschungen  im  Amur-Lande,"  affords  instructive  evidence  that  the 
forms  of  this  sphere  of  art  have  remained  unaltered  up  to  the  present  time,  not 
withstanding  all  political  turbulence  and  change  that  have  affected  the  Amur 
region  in  the  mean  time.  Although  Russian  influence  is  nowadays  all-powerful, 
yet  it  has  not  been  able  to  suppress  or  eradicate  native  art,  nor  to  replace  it  by 
something  better,  for  the  apparent  simple  reason  that  the  Russian  settlers  had 
indeed  nothing  better  to  offer.  Whereas  Russian  "  culture  "  tended  to  shatter  the 
entire  life  of  the  natives,  its  effect  is  the  more  striking  and  remarkable  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  native  art  has  been  retained  pure  and  intact.  From  this  we  may 
be  justified  in  inferring  that  their  artistic  conceptions  have  taken  deep  root  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  and  have  acquired  a  high  value  in  their  intellectual  world. 
The  tenacity  with  which  the  style  of  art  survives  should  be  counted  as  evidence  of 
its  national  character,  at  least  of  an  ancient  naturalization  on  the  soil  in  which  it 
was  planted.  On  the  other  hand,  we  observe  at  first  that  the  forms  and  concep 
tions  of  this  ornamentation  are  imbued,  for  the  most  part,  with  a  Chinese  spirit ; 
but  considering  the  historical  feature  just  mentioned,  and,  moreover,  the  fact  that 
the  present  aspect  of  the  wide  propagation  and  the  skilful  execution  of  this  art 
all  over  the  Amur  region  can  be  the  result  only  of  long-enduring  tradition,  it  can 
hardly  be  designated  en  masse  as  a  Chinese  importation.  Its  basis  rests  unde 
niably  in  China.  In  the  course  of  time  the  Amur  tribes  appropriated  Chinese 
forms  to  themselves,  and  very  likely  further  developed  them  independently.  The 
introduction  of  Chinese  devices  must  surely  date  as  far  back  as  the  earliest  connec- 


LAUFER,  THE  DECORATIVE  ART  OF  THE  AMUR  TRIBES.        3 

tion  of  the  Chinese  with  the  Amur  region  and  with  Tungusian  tribes.  This  art 
was  perhaps  first  introduced  as  a  mere  fashion,  which  overruled  taste,  then 
gradually  infused  itself  into  the  minds  of  the  people,  who  in  this  way  absorbed 
and  assimilated  a  part  of  the  Chinese  art,  as  the  nations  of  Europe  imbibed 
classic  art  in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance.  It  was  due  no  less  also  to  a  con 
geniality  of  the  minds  of  the  two  peoples.  At  present  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
define  exactly  the  historical  relation  between  Chinese  and  East  Siberian  art, 
especially  since  the  art  of  China,  and  particularly  its  ornamentation,  has  as  yet 
been  so  little  explored. 

We  read  in  the  annals  of  Chinese  history  that  the  great  body  of  Tungusians 
knew  nothing  further  than  the  use  of  wooden  tallies  with  certain  rude  conven 
tional  marks,  which  served  as  bonds  in  case  of  contracts  ;  and  that  then  A-paou-ke, 
the  first  emperor  of  the  Liao  Dynasty,  employed  a  great  number  of  Chinese  ;  and 
they  instructed  him,  by  an  adaptation  of  the  official  Chinese  writing,  with  certain 
additions  and  contractions,  how  to  construct  several  thousand  characters,  by 
which  the  engraved  contract-tallies  were  replaced,  these  new  forms  referring  to 
the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century.  Although  the  Khitans  thus  early  took  the 
lead,  their  example  was  not  followed  by  their  neighbors,  at  least  not  for  many 
years  ;  for  up  to  the  twelfth  century  we  still  find  the  Niiichi  chiefs  issuing  their 
orders  by  the  old  device  of  an  arrow  with  a  notch  in  it,  while  matters  of  urgency 
were  distinguished  by  three  notches.  On  their  establishment  as  the  Kin  Dynasty, 
however,  they  for  the  first  time  gained  a  knowledge  of  written  characters.1 

Since  writing  forms  a  most  important  part  of  art,  according  to  Chinese 
views,  we  may  conclude  that  the  introduction  of  ideograms  among  Tungusian 
tribes  became  at  the  same  time  the  incentive  for  adopting  also  ornamental  and 
decorative  forms.  So,  too,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  ornamentation  of  these  Tun 
gusian  tribes  can  have  been  but  very  poor  before  ;  and  from  this  point  of  view 
it  is  still  more  likely  that  they  felt  themselves  under  the  necessity  of  adopting 
Chinese  ornaments.  From  remote  times  the  forms  and  figures  of  Chinese  orna- 
ture  may  have  been  handed  down  among  the  Amur  tribes  for  many  centuries  ; 
and  thus  it  may  even  be  the  case  that  traditions  regarding  the  meaning  of  cer 
tain  patterns  are  fuller,  and  have  been  better  preserved  in  the  minds  of  these 
naive  unlettered  tribes  than  in  the  fast-fading  memories  of  a  writing  nation.  If  the 
patterns  of  the  Amur  tribes  were  derived  from  China,  it  is  most  astounding  that 
exactly  corresponding  devices  have  never  before  been  discovered  in  that  country, 
nor  adequate  explanations  obtained  for  related  ones.  It  is  true  that  we  know 
very  little  about  Chinese  ornaments  ;  nevertheless,  from  the  fact  that  the  in- 
'habitants  of  the  Amur  country  have  now  given  us  the  first  clew  to  patterns  of 
apparent  Chinese  origin,  we  seem  to  be  justified  in  concluding  that  they  arc 
founded  on  a  better-preserved  oral  tradition  there.  Further,  we  may  infer  that 
examples  similar  to  those  in  our  ornaments  are  necessarily  still  to  be  found  in  the 
large  province  of  Sino-Japanese  art.  Those  Chinese  and  Japanese  designs  which 

1  Wylie,  Chinese  Researches,  Vol.  II.,  p.  254- 


4  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART   OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

-t 

I  shall  here  compare  with  our  Siberian  devices  cannot  prove,  of  course,  the  direct 
historical  connection  between  the  practices  of  both  arts  :  they  are  merely  material 
chosen  to  demonstrate  some  characteristic  congruous  features,  which  may  bear 
witness,  if  not  to  the  exact  degree  of  relationship,  yet  to  a  general  one. 

What  is  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  sift  out,  is  the  ornamental  art  of  the  Man- 
chu,  and  those  Chinese  peoples  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Celestial  Kingdom 
bordering  on  Siberia.  The  source  from  which  the  Amur  peoples  have  drawn 
may  be  discovered  there.  After  all,  it  is  clearly  too  intricate  a  problem,  thus  far, 
to  distinguish  accurately  between  what  of  their  art  the  Amur  tribes  owe  to  their 
masters,  and  what  to  themselves.  A  great  many  features  should  be  attributed 
to  direct  Chinese  transmission.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  standpoint  to  be 
taken,  in  a  consideration  of  the  decorative  art  of  these  tribes,  must  for  the 
present  be  one  that  looks  upon  it  as  an  independent  branch  of  East  Asiatic  art, 
which  sprang  from  the  Sino-Japanese  cultural  centre.  The  exact  historical  posi 
tion  of  this  domain  of  art  in  the  grand  framework  of  this  culture  has  yet  to  be 
ascertained. 

The  dependence  of  the  art  of  the  Amur  tribes  on  the  Chinese  arises,  in  the 
next  place,  from  the  fact  that  Chinese  models  are  immediately  copied  by  the 
Gold.  The  explanation  of  such  reproductions  can  be  drawn  only  from  the  realm 
of  Chinese  conceptions.  Many  Chinese  designs  are  simply  based  on  a  play  upon 
words  ;  that  is,  abstract  ideas  are  symbolized  by  an  object  the  name  of  which  is 
homonymous  with  that  of  the  former,  although  written  with  different  characters. 
On  Plate  i  are  combined  three  designs,  apparently  Goldian  copies  of  Chinese 
originals.  Fig.  i  represents  somewhat  more  than  half  of  a  sleeping-mat  cov 
ered  with  a  silk  embroidery.  Around  the  central  circle,  surrounded  by  a  key 
pattern,  are  grouped  four  bats  and  four  butterflies,  alternating  with  each  other. 
The  meander  is  repeated  in  semicircles  in  the  four  corners.  The  bat  is  called  in 
Chinese  fu ;  there  is  another  word  fu  with  the  meaning  "  good  luck."  The  but 
terfly  is  designated  tiek  ;  this  same  complex  of  sounds  means  also  "aged."  The 
abstract  idea  of  this  pattern  is  therefore  that  it  may  convey  to  the  possessor  old 
age  and  good  luck.  Fig.  2  shows  the  design  on  the  top  of  a  Golclian  tea- 
table.  The  centre  is  occupied  by  the  dragon  in  the  exact  style  of  that  seen  so 
frequently  on  Chinese  porcelain  boxes  and  other  objects.  On  either  side  it  is 
beset  by  two  bats.  To  the  right  and  left  of  these  is  a  vine  bearing  three  blos 
soms.  Fig.  3  represents  a  square  kerchief  of  bluish-green  silk  lined  with  red 
cloth  and  edged  with  a  black  border.  In  the  middle  we  see  a  conventionalized 
form  of  the  Chinese  character  shou  ("long  life").  Around  it  are  four  butterflies 
hovering  over  plum-blossoms.  They  are  embroidered  in  the  most  variegated 
colors.  Plum-blossom  is  called  met,  and  is  looked  upon  as  the  symbol  of  beauty, 
as  met  also  signifies  "  beautiful."  This  pattern  presents,  accordingly,  an  allusion 
to  long  life,  old  age,  and  beauty.1 

Among  other  Chinese  forms  which  we  meet  with  in  East  Siberian  art  we 

1  See  W.  Grube,  Zur  Pekinger  Volkskunde  (Veroffentl.  aus  clem  Mus.  f.  Volkerkunde,  Berlin,  Vol.  VII,  p.  138). 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  I. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  5 

find  the  svastika  and  the  triskeles.  Furthermore,  the  animals  which  appear  in 
the  designs  of  the  Amur  natives  are  just  like  those  which  play  an  important  part 
in  Chinese  art  and  mythology.  It  is  indeed  most  remarkable  that  animals,  such 
as  the  bear,1  the  sable,  the  otter,  and  many  others  which  predominate  in  the 
household  economy,  and  are  favorite  subjects  in  the  traditions  as  well  as  in  daily 
conversation,  do  not  appear  in  art,  whereas  the  ornaments  are  filled  with  Chinese 
mythological  monsters  which  are  but  imperfectly  understood.  In  the  progress 
of  this  paper  we  shall  see,  further,  that  the  cock,  the  fish,  the  dragon,  and  other 
creatures  are  also  loans.  As  with  the  Chinese,  the  representations  of  animals  are 
not  connected  with  concrete  ideas  :  they  have  merely  an  emblematic  meaning,  and 
they  symbolize  abstract  conceptions.  The  art  of  the  Amur  peoples  is  lacking, 
therefore,  in  realistic  character,  and  merges  into  the  formative.  Objects  of  nature 
are  not  reproduced  ;  but  foreign  samples  handed  down  from  generation  to  genera 
tion,  and  at  last  assimilated,  are  continually  being  copied.  Many  women  retain 
in  their  memories  a  great  variety  of  patterns,  and  cut  them  out  of  paper  with  a 
speed  and  dexterity  that  are  worthy  of  admiration. 

SOME  GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ART  AND  ARTISTS.  —  Generally  activity 
in  the  province  of  art  is  limited  to  the  decoration  of  surfaces.  The  sense  for 
plastic  representations  is  lacking.  These  occur  rarely,  and  are  to  be  found  only 
under  exceptional  circumstances.  Animal  carvings  are  met  with  on  the  richer 
sepulchral  monuments  of  the  Gilyak.  Dishes  and  spoons,  for  use  at  the  bear- 
festival,  are  adorned  with  carved  bears.  For  a  boy's  toy,  the  bear  is  also 
crudely  carved  out  of  wood,  and  perforated  above  at  the  back  to  allow  of  a  string 
passing  through  it,  on  which  the  figure  is  moved  up  and  down.  Other  animals 
also  —  as,  for  instance,  dogs,  frogs,  lizards,  carp,  salmon  —  are  cut  out  of  wood 
by  the  Gilyak  as  well  as  by  the  Gold,  for  use  as  playthings.  To  the  prow  of  a 
boat  is  sometimes  attached,  especially  among  the  Gold,  a  wooden  duck,  generally 
of  rude  workmanship.  The  wooden  burchans— .images  of  deities — which  are 
manufactured  according  to  the  direction  of  the  shaman,  for  the  purpose  of  curing 
disease,  — -a  new  effigy  on  each  occasion,  — can  by  no  means  claim  a  place  among 
works  of  art,  since  they  embody  only  the  particular  attributes  required  in  the 
special  case  in  question,  and,  for  the  rest,  remain  a  rndis  indigestaque  moles. 
Most  striking  is  the  lack  of  ability  to  draw  human  faces  or  forms  ;  the  more  so, 
since,  on  prehistoric  monuments  of  the  Aimir  region,  petroglyphs  have  been 
found  which  doubtless  represent  human  heads.  Where  such  occasionally  occur, — 
as,  for  instance,  in  certain  paintings  on  Goldian  paper  charms  (so-called  boachi), — 
they  reveal  an  appalling  crucleness.  In  fact,  human  faces  are  never  met  with  in 

1  One  of  the  principal  faults  of  Schurtz's  studies,  cited  on  pp.  I  and  2,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  single  forms 
of  ornaments  have  been  extricated  from  the  larger  groups  in  which  they  occur,  and  the  connection  they  originally  had 
has  thus  been  dissolved.  Ornamental  forms  have  ever-varying  significations,  according  to  the  combinations  in  which 
they  are  used.  Fig.  I,  on  p.  235  of  Schurtz's  paper,  borrowed  from  Schrenck,  and  interpreted  by  him  as  a  bear's  head, 
is  the  ingredient  of  a  composition  covering  the  back  of  a  Goldian  or  Gilyak  fish-skin  garment.  The  whole  figure  should 
be  inverted,  and  then  we  see  obviously  the  cock  with  fish  in  its  beak,  and  perched  on  an  ornamental  figure  intended  to 
represent  a  tree. 


6  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

decorative  art ;  and  even  where  we  should  imagine  they  might  be,  they  are  ear 
nestly  disclaimed  by  competent  native  judges.  Nevertheless,  Schrenck  states  sub 
stantially,  "  Crude  and  primitive  representations  of  the  human  face  by  means 
of  a  pair  of  circles  with  a  point  in  the  middle,  a  vertical  line  between  them,  and  a 
horizontal  below  them,  as  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth  respectively,  occur  not  seldom 
on  utensils  of  the  Gilyak,  and  owe  their  origin,  I  believe,  to  the  idea  that  by 
placing  them  on  an  object  the  influence  of  evil  spirits  may  be  avoided,  and  the 
use  of  the  implement  attended  with  success."  i  I  have  not  succeeded  in  discover 
ing  the  slightest  vestige  of  proof  of  such  a  statement. 

The  materials  used  by  the  Amur  tribes  for  expressing  their  ornaments  are 
wood,  birch-bark,  fish-skin  (especially  salmon  and  sturgeon  skin),  elk  and  rein 
deer  skin,  cotton,  and  silk.  All  decorations  are  executed  by  means  of  a  long, 
sharp,  pointed  knife.  As  regards  special  points  of  technique,  they  will  be  found 
at  the  proper  place. 

All  needlework  is  done  by  women,  and  clever  embroiderers  especially  enjoy 
a  high  reputation  among  their  countrymen.  To  be  skilful  in  such  work 
is  regarded  as  a  great  merit,  and  increases  exceedingly  the  value  and  esteem 
of  a  girl  in  the  eyes  of  her  father,  who,  a  careful  calculator,  includes  the 
amount  brought  in  from  this  talent  in  the  purchase-price  due  from  his  son-in-law. 
Men,  on  the  other  hand,  aspire  to  possess  a  woman  experienced  in  this  line 
of  art,  and  take  great  pride  in  her  work  ;  while  wives  are  proud  of  dressing 
up  their  husbands  with  all  the  costly  and  gaudy  art  expedients  available,  and 
vie  with  their  fellow-artists  in  their  zeal  to  produce  the  most  striking  effects. 

GEOGRAPHICAL  ASPECT.  —  Schrenck,  in  his  book  previously  mentioned,  says 
(p.  401),  that,  besides  among  the  Gilyak,  the  same  style  of  ornamentation 
as  is  met  with  on  clothing  and  other  objects  is  also  to  be  found  among  all  other 
peoples  of  the  lower  Amur  region,  from  the  Gilyak  upstream,  along  the  main 
river  as  well  as  along  its  tributaries,  as  far  as  the  Sungari  River.  "  In  spite 
of  the  fact  that  these  tribes  are  of  Tungusian  origin,"  continues  that  author, 
"still  they  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  Russian-Siberian  Tungus  regarding 
the  ornaments  used  by  them,  but  follow  the  Chinese  and  Gilyak.  In  this 
connection  one  is  struck  by  the  fact  that  the  sense  for  ornamentation,  and  its 
display  in  the  Amur  country,  do  not  decrease,  but  increase,  with  distance  from 
the  most  influential  cultural  people,  the  Chinese,  and  culminate  among  the 
Gilyak,  who  live  farthest  away  from  them."  The  reason  for  this  is  sought 
by  Schrenck,  not  in  the  natural  dispositions  of  the  peoples  in  question,  but  in 
political  conditions.  The  Gilyak  remained  independent  of  the  rule  of  the 
Chinese,  and  thus  attained  to  greater  opulence  than  the  Tungusian  Amur 
tribes  subject  to  the  Chinese.  Secure  in  their  property,  they  were  necessarily 
better  able  to  enjoy  it,  and  to  feel  an  incentive  to  adorn  and  embellish  their 
clothing  and  implements. 

This  statement  and  its  accompanying  hypothesis  are  decidedly  erroneous. 

1  Reisen  und  Forschungen  im  Amur-Lande,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  402. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  7 

Schrenck's  investigations  were  unduly  devotee!  to  the  Gilyak,  and  in  his 
predilection  for  these  he  likes  to  hold  them  up  as  superior  to  all  other  tribes 
of  the  Amur  country.  As  I  visited  first  the  east  coast,  and  afterward  the 
interior  and  the  western  part,  of  Saghalin  Island,  later  the  entire  lower  Amur 
region  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  up  to  Khabarovsk,  I  had  an  opportunity 
to  study  and  judge  of  the  activity  of  the  people  in  branches  of  art  also  from 
a  geographical  point  of  view.  On  my  journeyings  my  observations  led,  first 
of  all,  to  the  deduction  of  a  prevailing  law  :  namely,  that  the  nearer  the  people 
live  to  a  centre  of  Chinese  culture,  the  higher  the  development  of  their  art  ; 
the  farther  they  recede  from  it,  the  less  their  sense  of  the  beautiful.  The 
art  of  the  Gilyak  of  Saghalin  is  very  poor  and  undeveloped  ;  they  possess  a 
limited  number  of  ornaments,  and  are  unable  to  produce  complicated  com 
positions  like  those  found  on  the  mainland,  as  they  themselves  assured  me. 
The  farther  east  one  goes  the  more  destitute,  and  the  farther  west  the  more 
gorgeous,  is  the  display  of  art,  which  reaches  its  climax  in  and  around 
Khabarovsk.  Indeed,  the  most  artistic  embroideries  of  our  collection  all  came 
from  this  metropolis,  where  the  Gold  dwell  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  Chinese,  and  have  frequent  intercourse  with  them.  It  is  evidently  owing 
to  this  influence  solely  that  the  Gold  have  attained  to  such  extraordinary  skill 
in  the  art  of  silk-embroidery,  the  knowledge  of  which,  in  its  highest  degree 
of  perfection,  is  restricted  to  those  inhabiting  that  area. 

This  geographical  observation  confirms  anew  the  establishment  of  the 
historical  truth  regarding  the  affiliation  of  the  arts  of  both  groups.  As  the 
Gold  are  generally  the  most  talented  representative  of  the  Amur  tribes,  so 
they  are  also  those  who  possess  the  best  understanding  of  decorative  art  and 
the  largest  number  of  individual  artists.  From  the  correspondence  of  the  Gold 
and  Gilyak  patterns,  it  may  be  concluded  that  the  Gilyak  have  derived  the 
greater  part  of  their  motives  from  the  Gold.  Perhaps  only  the  band-ornaments 
belonged  originally  to  the  former.  This  tallies  with  other  cultural  phenomena, 
for  in  all  probability  the  Gilyak  have  adopted  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
material  culture,  as  well  as  a  large  mass  of  traditions  and  religious  conceptions 
and  institutions,  from  the  intellectually  superior  and  more  versatile  Gold. 
The  decorative  art  of  the  Amur  tribes  is  accordingly  to  be  regarded,  on  the 
whole,  as  that  of  the  Gold,  who  occupy  the  most  prominent  place  in  it. 

This  manner  of  geographical  dissemination  explains  the  uniformity  of 
character  of  this  art ;  so  that  diversities,  if  any  exist,  lie  much  less  in  a  varying 
distribution  of  the  patterns  over  geographical  provinces  than  in  the  different 
grades  of  execution  dependent  on  the  tendency  of  artists  in  one  community  to 
concentrate  their  individual  minds  on  particular  lines  of  work,  in  which,  in  the 
course  of  time,  their  unequally  allotted  talents  have  received  special  training. 
The  Gold,  as  a  rule,  are  well  versed  in  all  branches  of  art,  and  excel  all  other 
tribes  in  proficiency  in  embroidering;  the  Gilyak  may  be  superior  to  others 
in  wood-carving;  and  the  Tungusian  tribes  of  the  Amgun  and  Ussuri  Rivers 


LAUFER,  THE  DECORATIVE  ART  OF  THE  AMUR  TRIBES. 

are  unsurpassed  in  cutting  ornaments  for  decorating  birch-bark  baskets.  At 
all  events,  if  we  consider  the  geographical  distribution  of  decorative  design 
in  these  regions,  the  art  industry  carried  on  by  the  Gold  in  Khabarovsk  and 
its  environs  remains  the  central  circle  from  which  the  practices  of  the  other 
tribes  radiate,  and  lose  in  light  and  warmth  toward  the  periphery. 

Although  the  elaboration  of  ornaments  is  still  actively  going  on,  and  in  no 
more  danger  of  dying  out  than  the  Gold  and  Gilyak  themselves,  yet  the  people, 
whose  interests  are  more  and  more  absorbed  by  recent  demands  of  Russian 
intercourse,  seem  to  overlook  the  relics  of  the  past ;  at  least  at  times  they  fail 
to  understand  their  own  singularity,  for  I  came  across  but  few  individuals 
who  were  able  to  "  read  "  their  ornaments.  To  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
they  are  indeed  a  mystery.  Perhaps,  however,  they  have  never  paid  much 
attention  to  decoration,  which  may  always  have  been  confined  to  the  initiated. 
If  the  common  people  are  questioned  as  to  the  significance  of  a  particular 
ornament,  their  usual  answer  is,  accompanied  by  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  that  it 
is  only  for  decorative  purposes.  Very  few  expert  artists  are  able  to  give  approx 
imately  satisfactory  information,  and  even  what  they  do  give  is  fragmentary,  and 
probably  a  mere  skeleton  of  what  must  have  been  known  about  the  subject  in 
previous  times  ;  so  that  out  of  these  shreds  it  is  hard  to  piece  together  the 
perfect  original  fabric.  The  following  account  is  an  objective,  although  somewhat 
disconnected,  record  of  the  ideas  which  the  native  artists  of  to-day  know  how  to 
develop  on  their  productions.  I  think  the  clews  obtained  from  this  source  of 
interpretation  should  form  the  impassable  boundary  to  our  knowledge  in  this 
domain  of  research,  beyond  which  limit  we  should  not  attempt  to  go  ;  for  we 
should  neither  pretend  nor  strive  to  know  more  about  things  than  the  people  who 
have  made  them.  Gaps  may  in  many  cases  be  filled  in,  perhaps,  by  comparisons 
of  single  pieces  one  with  another.  An  explanation  for  a  definite  form  cannot  be 
transferred  unhesitatingly  to  another  homologous  one,  except  on  the  condition 
that  the  latter  appears  in  the  same  connection  of  lines  and  structures  as  the 
former,  —  the  same  rule  as  holds  regarding  comparisons  of  traditions  of  various 
tribes.  Just  as  in  a  fragmentary  manuscript  many  a  missing  link  may  be  guessed 
at,  inferred,  or  even  restored,  so  may  it  also  happen  in  ornamentation  ;  neverthe 
less  one  ought  never  to  be  off  one's  guard,  but  should  adopt  the  expectant 
method  until  new  sources  are  opened  from  allied  provinces,  be  our  present 
knowledge  never  so  meagre  and  even  in  shreds. 

Our  investigation  starts  with  an  analysis  of  the  simple  component  forms  of 
this  ornamentation,  i.  e.,  the  band  and  the  spiral,  and  will  then  deal  with  the  usual 
forms  of  animals. 

BANDS. — The  fillet  or  band  ornament  occurs  primarily  on  handles  of  spoons. 
Such  decorated  spoons  are  now  things  of  the  past.  At  the  present  day  they  are 
used  only  by  the  Gilyak,  on  the  occasion  of  the  bear-festival,  having  been  super 
seded  in  every-day  life  by  spoons  of  Russian  make.  The  specimens  represented 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  II. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  9 

in  Figs,  i-i  i,  Plate  n,  are  old  pieces  from  the  most  remote  villages  of  the  Liman, 
and  have  long  been  in  use.  These  spoons  are  made  by  special  artists,  for  partic 
ular  use  a  short  time  previous  to  the  bear-festival,  and  are  characterized  by  their 
elegant  and  graceful  shapes  and  by  their  elaborate  ornamentation.  The  ends  of 
the  handles  are  carved  into  forms  which,  in  most  cases,  have  special  reference  to 
the  bear-festival.  Some  present  sculptured  bear-figures,  others  figures  of  sun 
or  moon.  Before  describing  the  bands,  I  will  discuss  these  carvings. 

The  handles  of  the  spoons  illustrated  in  Figs.  5  and  9  of  this  plate  were 
originally  surmounted  by  bear-figures,  which,  unfortunately,  had  already  been 
broken  off  when  the  specimens  were  obtained.  Fig.  i  shows  a  bear  in  the  act 
of  walking,  on  top  of  which  another  bear  originally  stood,  but  it  is  now  missing. 
The  handle  of  Fig.  7  is  surmounted  by  an  open-work  carving,  the  main  portion 
of  which  consists  of  two  bear-cubs  side  by  side. 

In  Fig.  6,  Plate  n,  is  represented  a  very  realistic  scene  bearing  upon  certain 
events  of  the  feast  itself.  Near  the  end  of  the  handle  may  be  seen  the  image  of 
a  standing  bear  bound  around  its  body  with  two  ropes,  which  cross  each  other  over 
the  back.  This  has  reference  to  the  first  of  the  ceremonies  connected  with  the 
festival,  when  the  bear  is  taken  from  its  cage,  tied  with  ropes,  and  led  to  the  scene 
of  festivities.  The  extreme  end  of  the  handle  consists  of  a  movable  link  carved  out 
of  the  same  piece  of  wood  as  the  perforation  through  which  it  passes.  This  link 
terminates  in  the  figure  of  a  bear-head,  which  is  intended  to  represent  the  head 
of  the  bear  that  is  shot  with  bow  and  arrows  at  the  close  of  the  feast,  and 
exhibited  in  the  house  of  the  host. 

The  bowls  of  the  specimens,  Figs,  i,  5,  7,  Plate  n,  which  are  adorned  with 
carved  figures  of  bears,  are  further  decorated  with  svastika-like  figures,  the 
central  part  having  the  form  of  a  rhombus  or  lozenge.  In  the  latter  two  there  is 
a  St.  Andrew's  cross  within  the  lozenge.  Each  of  the  two  vertical  arms  of  the 
svastika  branches  off  into  two  curved  tips,  while  the  extremities  of  the  two  hori 
zontal  arms  bend  upward  (as  in  Fig.  7),  or  one  curves  upward  and  the  other 
downward  (as  in  Fig.  i),  or  both  point  downward  (Fig.  5).  At  the  base  of  the 
bowl  is  a  primitive  representation  of  the  sun,  which  implies  a  symbolic  meaning 
connected  with  that  of  the  svastika  and  the  bear-carvings.  On  Fig.  9  there  is  a 
variation  of  the  svastika,  perhaps  developed  by  the  insertion  of  a  triskeles  in  such 
a  way  that  its  arms  alternate  with  those  of  the  svastika. 

On  the  bowl  of  Fig.  3,  Plate  n,  we  observe  the  figure  of  a  crescent  hooked 
at  one  end,  while  the  handle  is  surmounted  by  a  carved  ring,  the  two  incised 
concentric  circles  on  which  represent  the  sun.  The  outer  circle  is  set  with  a  row 
of  small  triangular  figures  symbolizing  rays.  A  more  primitive  representation  of 
the  sun  is  to  be  seen  on  specimen  Fig.  4,  and  a  crescent  surmounts  the  handle  of 
Fig.  2. 

On  Fig.  6,  Plate  n,  we  meet  with  the  simplest  form  of  the  fillet-ornament, 
which  here  runs  around  in  two  windings,  forming  three  loops.  If  we  take  into 
consideration  the  earliest  stages  in  the  development  of  this  special  ornament,  it 


10  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OE    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

will  at  once  be  understood,  that,  owing  to  its  form,  it  was  readily  employed  on 
spoon-handles  ;  for  it  is  easily  adapted  to  the  space  available,  since  it  admits  of 
lengthening  or  shortening  to  suit  the  decorative  field,  and,  besides,  contributes  in 
a  high  degree  to  the  gracefulness  and  elegance  of  the  spoon  ;  furthermore,  if  we 
regard  the  special  purpose  of  these  spoons,  we  may  perceive  a  certain  connection 
between  this  pattern  and  the  representations  of  the  bear.  In  the  case  of  the  spoon 
represented  in  Fig.  6  the  fillet-ornament  may  be  considered  as  the  continuation  of 
the  ropes  with  which  the  carved  standing  bear  is  bound,  and  this  may  be  the  un 
derlying  reason  for  the  employment  of  this  ornament  on  spoons  specially  designed 
for  use  at  the  banquet  of  the  bear-festival.  Not  alone  from  this  example,  but  from 
other  instances  as  well,  may  it  be  seen  that  a  deeper  connection  exists  between  the 
fillet  and  the  object,  or  the  purpose  of  the  object,  on  which  it  appears.  At  all 
events,  the  bear-figures  in  combination  with  the  fillet-ornament  should  not  be 
regarded  as  merely  accidental.  From  this  point  of  view,  spoons  decorated  in 
similar  style,  but  without  bear-carvings,  should  be  ascribed  to  a  secondary  stage 
of  development. 

In  almost  all  spoons  there  is  a  narrow  curved  portion  between  the  bowl  and 
the  handle  proper.  Seen  from  the  side,  this  narrow  section,  in  most  cases,  forms, 
with  the  edge  of  the  bowl,  nearly  a  half-circle.  In  Figs,  i,  5,  7,  9,  Plate  n,  this 
part  of  the  handle  adjoining  the  bowl  is  decorated  with  a  simple  zigzag  line,  which 
appears  to  be  a  single  thread  drawn  out  from  the  main  ribbon  symbolizing  the 
band-ornament.  Among  the  spoons  in  the  collection,  this  serpentine  line  occurs 
on  those  specimens  only  which  have  carvings  of  bear-figures  in  combination  with 
the  svastika.  The  majority,  however,  are  undecorated  on  this  part,  while  a  few 
bear  an  incised  figure  composed  of  lines  parallel  with  the  curved  line  of  the  edge, 
as  in  Fig.  3.  On  the  last-named  specimen  a  short  zigzag  appears  at  the  upper, 
and  another  at  the  lower,  end  of  the  handle  proper,  inside  of  the  fillet.  A  few 
spoons,  as  those  in  Figs,  i,  5,  7,  and  8,  have  rib-like  designs  on  this  part. 

The  Gold  have  no  bear-festival,  and  naturally,  therefore,  possess  no  spoons 
decorated  with  symbols  like  those  above  described.  Neither  do  we  find  any  ser 
pentine  lines  on  their  spoons. 

The  bands  on  these  spoons  are  all  formed  of  the  raised  portions  lying  between 
two  parallel  incised  lines,  the  latter  being  of  a  negative  character  only  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  incised  parts  serve  merely  to  outline  the  ornament,  and  in  some  cases  also 
to  fill  in  otherwise  vacant  spaces.  In  themselves  they  are  not  ornamental. 

On  Fig.  i,  Plate  11,  we  observe  a  band  twisted  at  two  points.  Inside  of  this 
band  are  designs  identical  with  those  of  the  arm  of  the  svastika.  on  the  bowls. 
On  the  next  specimen  (Fig.  2)  two  bands  intertwine,  forming  two  circular  knots. 
The  portion  between  the  knots  curves  out  at  the  centre  on  either  side,  admitting 
a  third  knot,  indicated  by  an  incised  circle.  The  negative  parts  at  both  ends  are 
filled  up  with  short  parallel  horizontal  lines,  and  in  the  centre  with  single  vertical 
lines.  The  ornament  in  Fig.  3  consists  of  three  bands.  The  middle  one  forms  a 
circular  knot  at  both  ends  and  a  large  rhombus  in  the  centre.  Two  short  side- 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  l  I 

bands  are  so  intertwined  as  to  forma  circle  within  the  rhombus.  The  ornamenta 
tion  on  the  handle  of  Fig.  4  is  made  up  of  a  pair  of  cords  or  lacings,  one  simply 
thrown  over  the  other  a  short  distance  from  either  end,  which  form  at  the  centre 
two  contiguous  ellipses.  In  Fig.  5  the  same  principle  of  the  band-ornament  is 
employed  as  in  Fig.  i.  In  each  of  the  two  ellipses  formed  by  the  band-ornament 
are  two  peculiar  designs  which  happen  to  look  very  much  like  old  Assyrian  cunei 
forms.  On  Fig.  7  are  three  bands  artistically  twisted.  One  band  runs  along  both 
sides  of  the  handle,  bending  at  the  centre  into  two  contiguous  curves  ;  the  second 
band  forms  a  rhombus  in  the  middle  ;  and  the  third  intertwines  with  the  first,  and 
then  continues  in  the  direction  of  the  bowl.  The  middle  part  of  the  handle  of 
Fig.  8  is  occupied  by  two  bands  interlaced  with  each  other  and  closed  at  both 
ends.  They  are  joined  by  a  short  double  band  at  each  end  for  the  purpose  of 
rounding  off  the  ornament.  The  spoon  in  Fig.  9  is  ornamented  in  a  style  similar 
to  that  in  Fig.  3  ;  the  small  rhombuses  in  the  interstices  also  occur.  The  handle 
of  Fig.  10  represents  two  double  bands  arranged  in  a  manner  similar  to  those  on 
Fig.  4.  They  are  interrupted  in  the  centre,  however,  by  a  different  figure.  This 
ornament,  which  is  also  to  be  seen  at  the  extremity  of  the  handle  of  Fig.  8, 
occurs  frequently  in  later  examples  in  connection  with  the  spiral. 

The  decoration  represented  on  the  ladle  Fig.  n,  Plate  n,  is  likewise  com 
posed  of  the  band-ornament,  but  it  differs  from  the  designs  hitherto  explained  in 
that  the  band  is  indicated  at  two  places  only  —  once  in  the  middle  and  again  at  the 
end  —  by  short  connecting  lines,  and  that  the  negative  parts,  between  which  one 
has  to  look  sharply  to  discover  the  band,  are  more  prominent  (cf.  Figs.  4-6, 
Plate  iv). 

Figs.  12  and  13,  Plate  IT,  illustrate  spoons  of  Goldian  origin.  The  former 
represents  the  handle  of  a  large  fish-ladle  ;  the  latter,  that  of  a  spoon  for  eating. 
In  the  fillet  on  the  Goldian  spoons  the  pure  and  rigid  forms  of  the  Gilyak  are  not 
adhered  to,  and  much  less  space  is  required  for  it,  as  it  alternates  with  spiral- 
ornaments.  Fig.  14  shows  a  pair  of  chopsticks,  —  a  mere  imitation,  of  course,  of 
Chinese-Japanese  work,  —  which  are  interesting  here  because  they  show  an  incised 
crescent  at  their  ends,  and  terminate  in  movable  pieces,  as  in  Fig.  6.  The  dec 
oration  on  the  handle  consists  of  short  parallel  converging  lines  which  meet  in 
acute  angles.  Chopsticks  are  used  but  seldom,  and  only  by  such  of  the  wealthy 
and  noble  as  lay  great  stress  on  etiquette  and  are  fond  of  imitating  foreign  cus 
toms.  The  most  common  method  of  eating  is  to  use  one's  fingers,  and  finally  to 
lick  the  plate  with  the  tongue. 

SPIRALS.  —  We  shall  now  enter  into  an  examination  of  the  kinds  of  spirals  to 
be  found  in  this  sphere  of  artistry,  and  discuss  a  series  of  objects  on  which  they 
occur. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  TIT,  represents  an  eye-protector,  which  is  tied  with  a  string 
around  the  forehead,  and  shades  the  eyes  from  the  snow  in  sledge-driving.  It  is 
especially  worn  during  the  transition  period  between  winter  and  spring,  when  the 
snow  begins  to  melt.  It  is  made  of  cloth,  and  has  a  simple  spiral-ornament 


12  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

stitched  into  it.  There  are  two  outer  and  two  inner  spirals  corresponding  to  each 
other  symmetrically,  the  latter  two  coinciding  at  the  centre. 

In  Fig.  2  of  this  plate  we  see  one  of  the  two  symmetrical  halves  of  a  design 
painted  on  the  upper  edge  of  a  pair  of  leggings.  The  ornamentation  is  on  a  piece 
of  fish-skin,  which  is  sewed  to  the  material  of  the  leggings.  The  trapezoidal  sec 
tion  across  the  top,  the  narrow  stripe  under  it,  and  the  lower  border-line,  as  well 
as  five  of  the  large  dots  inside,  are  red  ;  all  the  rest,  deep  black.  The  orna 
ment  starts  with  a  spiral  winding  round  to  the  left,  the  centre  of  which  is  indicated 
by  a  small  thickened  circle.  To  this  spiral  is  attached,  on  the  right-hand  side,  a 
figure  the  foundation  of  which  appears  as  a  simple  wave-line  from  which  proceed 
three  scroll-like  branchlets.  The  upper  ones  run  in  the  same  direction  as  the 
main  spiral.  The  branch  nearest  the  main  spiral  sends  out  a  smaller  offshoot  in 
the  form  of  a  triskeles. 

The  wooden  Gilyak  box  of  cylindrical  form,  shown  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  in,  is 
decorated  with  an  ornament  that  offers  a  typical  example  of  a  compound  spiral. 
From  one  and  the  same  centre  proceed  two  spiral  bands,  one  within  the  other, 
and  both  running  in  the  same  direction.  The  line  forming  the  spiral  is  made 
up  of  three  incised  lines,  close  together  and  parallel  to  each  other,  which  throw 
out  in  relief  the  two  intervening  spaces.  The  spaces  between  these  groups  of 
lines  form  bands,  which  continue  from  one  spiral  into  the  next,  producing  alter 
nately  two  knots  and  one  knot,  that  serve  to  connect  two  adjoining  spirals.  In 
the  upper  and  lower  edge  of  the  spirals  are  twisted  knots  ;  so  that  one  may  look 
upon  this  pattern  also  as  a  very  artistic  interlacement  of  bands,  which  sometimes 
results  in  knots,  and  sometimes  in  spirals.  All  together,  there  are  four  such 
spirals  covering  the  convex  surface  of  the  cylinder.  On  the  inside  of  the  bottom 
of  this  box  is  found  a  peculiar  variation  of  the  svastika,  in  that  the  design  has  two 
additional  arms  on  the  sides. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  in,  shows  the  cover  of  a  decorated  tobacco-box.  It  is  orna 
mented  with  three  spirals,  the  central  one  smaller  than  the  others,  which  are 
treated  at  the  same  time  as  band-ornaments.  Each  spiral  figure  is  composed  of 
two  spiral  lines  of  the  same  direction,  one  within  the  other.  All  three  figures  are 
solid  spirals.  In  the  spirals  at  the  top  and  bottom  the  regular  circuit  of  the 
windings  is  interrupted  by  two  circular  inlaid  bands  which  cross  the  spiral  lines  at 
two  places  ;  that  is  to  say,  they  run  under  them  :  in  this  way  in  one  semicircle  are 
combined  eight  parallel  bands.  The  band  of  the  central  spiral  is  structurally  con 
nected  with  those  on  either  side  of  it.  To  the  left  of  this  central  spiral  are  two 
parallel,  frequently  interlaced  bands,  and  to  the  right  of  it  is  a  band  plaited  into 
three  knots,  and  tied  to  a  boat  extending  along  the  side  of  this  pattern.  This 
forms  a  conspicuous  example  of  the  essential  principle  of  the  band-ornament  in 
connection  with  a  realistic  motive.  Around  the  rim  of  this  cover,  which  is  not 
visible  in  the  drawing,  runs  a  continuous  chain-band  whose  form  corresponds  to 
that  on  Fig.  6,  Plate  n. 

In   Fig.  5,  Plate  in,  is  represented  a  Goldian  knife  which  was  obtained  in 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  III. 


-  •  * '^-^^^fy^'K  f^ 

•\  -\>*MV\     ex/-.-1  .•-  Pv.     „,.  I'-f), \\  ,JT.'-  svo      /^ 


,Y 


Decorative  Art  ot  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES.  13 

the  village  of  Sakhacha-olen.  This  knife  is  used,  especially  by  the  women,  in 
lieu  of  scissors,  which  they  do  not  possess.  The  end  of  the  handle  is  sloped  off 
with  a  slight  curve.  The  carving,  which  covers  only  one  side  of  the  handle,  is 
very  roughly  and  inartistically  worked  out  :  it  consists  of  two  groups  of  spirals. 
Above,  nearest  the  blade,  are  two,  below  three,  simple  spirals  combined  into  one 
figure,  which  are  bordered  on  either  side  by  semicircles  parallel  to  them. 

A  Goldian  fish-scraper  made  of  elk-bone,  and  decorated  with  a  combination 
of  incised  spirals,  is  seen  in  Fig.  6,  Plate  in.  These  spirals  are  composed  of 
double  lines  between  which  are  short  cross-lines.  The  ornament  is  symmetri 
cally  distributed  over  both  of  the  roof-like  sides  of  the  bone.  If  one  looks  at  the 
object  horizontally,  the  scheme  of  the  ornament  appears  as  a  wave-line  from 
which  proceed  spirals  with  one  winding,  that  here  and  there  have  lateral  offshoots. 

Fig.  7,  Plate  in,  shows  a  board  of  modern  Goldian  work,  for  cutting  fish  on. 
The  end  of  the  board  is  shaped  into  a  fish-tail.  The  board  proper  is  divided 
into  three  fields,  —  a  square  at  each  end,  and  a  rectangle  between  them.  The 
latter  is  unornamented,  and  serves  to  cut  the  fish  on.  Thus  there  are  three 
decorated  fields,  —  the  fish-tail  and  the  two  squares.  The  incised  lines  stand 
out  from  the  black  background.  The  foundation  of  the  ornament  is  the  double 
spiral,  which  occurs  six  times,  and  is  surrounded  by  equidistant  curves  which  run 
out  into  little  spirals  on  the  upper  end  of  the  board.  Here  appear  also  some 
leaf-ornaments,  —  combinations  of  three  and  four  lobed  leaves,  the  latter  occur 
ring  twice  between  two  double  spirals.  In  the  square  adjoining  the  fish-tail 
both  the  spirals  are  pointed  toward  that  side,  and  consequently  they  correspond 
to  the  acute  angle  formed  by  the  combination  of  the  border-curves.  On  the  other 
side,  however,  the  spirals  preserve  their  usual  forms  ;  whereas  the  border-lines  do 
not  meet,  but  are  connected  with  each  other  by  a  short  straight  line  to  make 
room  for  a  trifoliate  leaf. 

In  Figs.  8-10  of  this  plate  are  represented  metal  objects  of  Yakut  origin 
which  are  attached  to  the  ceremonial  garment  of  the  shaman.  They  illustrate 
the  use  of  the  spiral  farther  in  the  interior  of  Siberia.  Fig.  10  shows  tendrils 
twining  into  spiral-like  forms. 

BAND  AND  SPIRAL  ORNAMENTS. — In  Fig.  i,  Plate  iv,  we  see  a  reel,  the  two 
horizontal  arms  of  which  are  decorated  on  both  sides  alike.  On  the  upper  arm, 
in  the  middle,  is  a  small  rectangle  bearing  one  link  of  a  chain-ornament.  On 
either  side  of  it  is  a  band-ornament  consisting  of  a  thrice-intertwined  band. 
On  the  raised  rectangle  of  the  under  arm  is  a  knot  similar  to  the  one  above,  and 
the  short  pieces  of  bands  on  both  sides  show  merely  the  single  negative  parts, 
whereas  the  connecting  lines  for  indicating  the  direction  of  the  band  are  missing. 
It  is  evident  that  also  in  this  case  a  definite  relation  exists  between  the  use  of  the 
band-ornament  and  the  purpose  of  the  object,  which  serves  for  winding  up  the 
ropes  in  netting. 

The  interlacement-band  also  occurs  in  the  art  of  the  Gold,  although  much 
less  frequently  than  in  the  decorative  art  of  the  Gilyak.  We  meet  with  a  band 


14  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

of  this  kind  on  an  awl  made  of  elk-bone  (Fig.  2,  Plate  iv).  Just  below  the 
point  of  the  instrument  we  observe  two  short  bands  plaited  into  a  knot  in  the 
middle.  From  this  point  another  band  starts,  and  fits  into  the  sides  of  one  of 
the  vertical  acute  angles.  This  band  is  plaited  in  the  form  of  two  lozenges,  and 
ends  with  half  of  a  third  lozenge.  The  bands  added  on  both  sides  of  the  lozenges 
would  seem  to  indicate  the  continuation  of  the  latter  indefinitely  on  both  sides. 
Inside  of  these  rhomboids  is  a  vertical  row  of  three  round  dots,  and  on  the  bands 
themselves  a  series  of  smaller  dots  placed  close  together,  and  having  the  appear 
ance  of  a  dotted  line.  This  kind  of  decoration  should  be  considered  in  a  sym 
bolical  sense,  since  it  suggests  the  use  to  which  the  instrument  is  put. 

Another  symbolical  device  is  met  with  in  Fig.  3  of  the  same  plate,  which 
represents  a  girdle-ornament  made  of  antler,  and  shows  a  simple  double-knotted 
band.  As  this  object  serves  to  fasten  the  girdle,  a  reference  to  this  purpose  is 
obviously  implied  in  the  ornament. 

Band-ornaments  are  especially  employed  on  the  ends  of  large  dishes  cut  out 
of  one  piece  of  wood  (  Figs.  4-6,  Plate  iv),  and  used  for  fish  and  rice  at  large 
social  gatherings.  Both  ends  of  each  piece  show  the  same  ornamentation,  the 
bands  projecting  in  relief  above  the  incisions.  In  Fig.  4  is  represented  a 
chain-band  composed  of  three  links  and  forming  two  knots.  Of  the  two  bands 
on  the  right  and  left  sides,  little  more  than  half  is  visible,  but  it  should  be 
imagined  that  they  continue  in  the  same  way  as  the  middle  one.  The  central 
band  is  linked  to  the  two  lateral  ones,  and  is  itself  crossed  in  the  middle. 

In  Fig.  5,  Plate  iv,  we  see  a  band  running  up  and  down,  alternating  with  a 
horizontal  one.  The  former  is  twisted  into  two  circular  knots  ;  the  horizontal 
band  is  so  treated  that  an  ellipse  is  produced  both  above  and  below,  the  bands 
coinciding  at  the  centre,  the  whole  presenting  a  sort  of  flattened  hourglass-shaped 
figure.  To  fill  up  the  centre  of  the  ornament  a  circular  band,  over  which  is  a 
semicircle,  is  made  use  of.  Fig.  6  shows  two  lateral  bands,  one  crossed  over 
the  other,  and  a  pair  of  horizontal  bands  twisted  into  a  knot,  which  is  indi 
cated  by  a  circle  and  two  connecting  strokes  tangent  to  it.  These  two  bands  are 
coiled  at  their  ends,  forming  four  circles. 

Next  on  this  plate  we  see  a  dish  (Fig.  7)  which  shows  a  different  orna 
mentation  on  each  end,  due  to  their  difference  in  form.  On  the  trapezoidal- 
shaped  piece  are  visible  two  interlaced  bands  which  form  a  rhombus  in  the  centre. 
In  the  triangle  on  the  other  side  is  a  double  ornament, —  a  simple  band-ornament, 
and  attached  to  it  another  band-ornament  the  negative  parts  of  which  are  made 
up  of  two  central  combined  facing  spirals,  a  simple  scroll  on  either  side  of  them, 
and  an  engrailed  line  along  the  edge  of  the  dish. 

Fig.  8,  Plate  iv,  represents  a  small  square  box  with  separate  cover.  The 
ornament  on  the  side  of  the  box  consists  of  two  double  spirals  treated  as  bands, 
and  surrounded  by  a  band  following  the  windings  of  the  spirals.  The  cover 
(Fig.  8  a)  shows  a  combination  of  two  pairs  of  simple  facing  band-spirals.  The 
sides  of  the  box  seen  in  Fig.  9,  which  is  shaped  like  a  horse's  hoof,  are  covered 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  IV. 


\  / 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  V. 


L      _>4 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE   DECORATIVE   ART   OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  15 

with  a  continuous  series  of  compound  double  spirals.  Whereas  the  cover 
(Fig.  9  a)  shows  the  band-ornament  in  a  very  impressive  way,  the  form  of  the 
compound  spiral  in  the  central  rhombus  reminds  one  strongly  of  the  Japanese 
futatsutomoye  (see  Figs.  2-9,  Plate  xvi). 

The  dish  shown  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  v,  is  decorated  with  a  different  pattern  on 
each  end.  The  arrangement  of  the  band-ornament  here  differs  widely  from  the 
other  representations  of  it :  on  the  end  to  the  left  is  a  continuous  band  formed 
by  two  parallel  outlines,  one  of  which  is  placed  near  to  and  parallel  with  the  edge 
of  the  dish  proper,  the  other  being  combined  with  the  terminations  of  the  two 
central  facing  spirals,  resulting  in  a  very  strange  figure,  which  has  properly  no 
ornamental  or  symbolical  significance.  In  a  similar  way  a  still  stranger  figure  is 
produced  in  the  longer  tapering  end  on  the  other  side.  The  negative  parts  here 
require  so  much  space  that  at  first  sight  one  might  consider  them  as  expressing 
the  ornament  proper.  If,  however,  we  bisect  the  four-armed  figure  longitudinally, 
we  shall  recognize  that  the  arms  with  the  adjoining  outlines  of  the  figure  are 
simply  portions  of  spirals,  and  that  merely  their  combination,  and  their  adaptation 
to  the  space  available,  have  given  rise  to  this  peculiar  kind  of  figure.  Very 
striking  is  the  lack  of  symmetry  displayed  in  the  two  halves  of  this  device.  To 
an  X-shaped  figure  on  the  one  side  corresponds  a  hammer-shaped  figure  on  the 
other  side,  just  as  the  condition  of  size  varies.  A  combination  of  two  such 
figures  at  the  apex  of  this  triangle  is  represented  in  an  anchor-shaped  figure,  to 
which,  however,  no  positive  ornamental  meaning  is  attributed,  but  it  simply 
designates  the  course  of  the  band.  Fig.  2  of  this  plate  is  the  cover  of  a  tobacco- 
box  of  ellipsoidal  shape.  The  central  and  lateral  portions  stand  out  a  little  beyond 
the  two  half-elliptical  sections,  which  show  the  same  ornamentation  in  correspond 
ing  symmetrical  arrangement,  —  two  double  spirals  treated  as  bands.  In  the 
middle  raised  part  is  a  pair  of  intertwined  bands  which  coil  at  the  ends  into 
band-spirals. 

Figs.  3-5,  Plate  v,  illustrate  drills,  —  three  old  rare  pieces  from  the  village  of 
Chomi  on  the  Liman.  While  the  upper  and  lower  parts  are  ornamentally  carved, 
the  middle  portion  is  covered  with  a  band  consisting  of  incised  parallel  oblique 
lines,  to  symbolize,  as  it  were,  the  turning  motion  of  the  instrument.  The  patterns 
show  again  a  combination  of  the  band-ornament  with  the  spiral.  That  the  spiral 
however,  is  not  to  be  considered  as  the  fundamental  element  of  the  ornament,  is 
seen  from  the  neighboring  auxiliary  figures,  which  run  parallel  to  the  winding  of 
the  spiral,  and  have  no  other  purpose  than  to  indicate  the  direction  of  the  band. 
Thus  we  see  in  the  lower  part  of  Fig.  3,  in  the  centre,  facing  spirals  surmounted 
by  a  pointed  arch,  the  two  curves  of  which  run  parallel  to  the  windings  of  the 
spirals  above  ;  and  under  these  facing  spirals  is  a  strangely  shaped  figure  which 
has  arisen  through  the  four  curves  of  which  it  consists  being  drawn  parallel  to  the 
adjoining  spirals  in  making  room  for  the  band.  The  circle  symbolizes  its  terminal 
knot.  On  the  upper  part  of  this  drill  occurs  again  a  similar  combination  of  spiral 
and  of  interlacement-bands.  The  ornamentations  on  Figs.  4  and  5  are  only 


i6 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 


ch-bark  Stencil.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  43  c 


variations   of  the  same  principle,   the  lower    part   of    Fig.    5  showing  negative 

incisions  similar  to  those  in  Fig.  5,  Plate  iv. 

DECORATIONS  ON  BOATS.  —  The   bows  of  wooden  rowboats    are   sometimes 

adorned,  both  inside 
and  outside,  with  paint 
ings.  For  this  purpose, 
stencils  are  cut  out  of 
strong  birch-bark,  ap 
plied  to  the  parts  to  be 
decorated,  and  brushed 
over  with  black  paint. 
In  all  cases  the  nega 
tive  cut-out  parts,  which 
naturally  appear  as  the 
positive  portions  on  the 
object  to  be  decorated, 

fould  be  ri*arded  as 

the  ornament  proper. 
They  have  therefore 
been  blackened  in  the 
drawings.  The  outline 
of  the  stencil  is  sometimes  adapted  in  a  certain  degree  to  the  form  of  the  pattern. 
The  most  frequent  motive  employed  in  this  case  is  the  double-spiral  fillet, 
although  the  com 
pound  spiral  is  also 
used. 

The  ornaments 
shown  in  Figs,  i  and 
2  are  constructed  on 
one  and  the  same 
principle.  The  two 
double  spirals  form 
ing  the  main  part  of 
the  pattern  are  sur 
rounded  by  a  simple 
band  that  runs  paral 
lel  to  the  outer  curves 
of  the  spirals.  This 
band  merges  above, 
on  either  side,  into 
a  central  head-shaped  ornament,  the  upper  part  of  which  consists  of  a  pair  of 
short  symmetrical  spirals,  while  the  under  part  results  from  the  combination  of 
two  conventionalized  fishes.1  The  lower  edge  of  the  pattern  is  in  the  form 

1  See  p.  29. 


h-bark  Stencil.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  44  l 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 


'7 


of  an  engrailed  line.      In  Fig.  3  the  band  surrounding  the  two   facing  spiral 
decorated  with  six  small  scrolls,  which  branch  off  from  it  at  a  tangent. 

In  Fig.  4,  four  pairs  of  facing 
spirals  are  placed  around  a  star-like 
rosette  (so-called  "  star-cross  ").  The 
design  corresponds  to  or  recalls  the 
anchored  or  forked  cross  of  mediaeval 
heraldry  with  convoluted  flukes.  In 
Fig.  5  the  spirals  join  a  somewhat 
square-shaped  figure,  in  the  angles 
of  which  are  found  flower-buds  with 
four  circles  in  front  of  them,  and  in 
the  centre  a  rhombus  with  curved 
sides. 

Figs.  6  and  7  represent  the  be 
ginnings  of  two  decorations  placed 
longitudinally  in  the  interior  of  the 
prow  of  a  boat.  They  may  be  ex 
tended  at  either  end  at  will.  Fig.  6  consists  of  a  star-cross  and  a  double  design 
whose  elements  are  formed  according  to  a  principle  similar  to  that  employed  in 
Fig.  2,  except  that  the  spirals  have  only  one  winding,  and  face  each  other. 
Whereas  Fig.  6  consists  of  a  series  of  two  different  designs,  Fig.  7  is  composed 
of  only  one  figure.  As  this  ornament,  like  the  preceding  one,  is  executed  with 


.  3  C.Vr) 


width,  31 


FIG.  5. 


FIGS.  4  (T;Sj),  5  Ci38»).     Bi 


Tribe,  Gold.     Diat 


perfect  symmetry,  there  is  but  one  motive,  the  scroll,  which  terminates  in  a  horn 
like  offshoot  with  an  adjoining  semicircle. 

OTHER  BIRCH-HARK  PATTERNS.  — Figs.  8  and  9  arc  patterns  cut  out  of  birch- 
bark,  used  for  embroidering  ear-lappets.  Both  consist  largely  of  spirals.  In  Fig. 
8  is  seen  a  lower  row  of  four  spirals  surmounted  by  a  triangular  field  filled  with 


i8 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 


fanciful  figures  that  are  characterized  as  derivations  from  the  conventional  form  of 
the  fish-ornament  in  so  far  as  they  do  not  appear  at  the  outset  to  be  mere  space- 
fillers.  This  figure  runs  out  into  a  face-shaped  head-piece  which  at  first  sight 

one  might  take  to 
be  a  convention- 
alized  human 
face  :  in  this  case 
the  eyes  would 
be  denoted  by 
spirals,  the  mouth 
by  the  figure  con 
nected  with  these, 
and  the  four 
tooth-like  forma 
tions  would  repre 
sent  tusks  not 

unlike  those  identified  by  Hein  '  on  the  demon-shields  of  the  Dayak.     Nevertheless, 
in  this  as  well  as  in  the  following  figure  (9),  the  Gilyak  in  the  village  of  Chai  on 
the  northeast  coast  of  Saghalin  Island,  from  whom  these  patterns  were  obtained  and 
information  concerning  them  sought,  decidedly 
denied  that  these  figures  have  any  relation  to  the 
human  figure  ;  and  it  seems  also  that  the  form  of  (\3, 

the  outline  of  this  pattern  is  solely  due  to  an 


pectively. 


adaptation  and  assimilation  to  the  space  occupied  by  the  object  itself.  Fig.  9 
consists  of  a  structure  of  spiral  ornaments,  whose  width  gradually  lessens  as  it 
proceeds  upward  from  the  broad  base,  until  it  ends  in  a  narrow  neck  surmounted 


A.  R.  Hein,  Die  bildenden  Kunste  bei  den  Dayaks  auf  Borneo  (Wien,  1890),  pp.  41-85. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART   OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


by  a  figure  apparently  treated  like  a  face,  but  in  semblance  only,  — a  circle  above, 
two  crescents  on  the  sides,  their  convex  sides  turned  towards  each  other,  and 
below  them  a  lozenge  standing  on  its  point.  In  the  trapezoidal  under  figure  we 
observe  three  rows  of  spiral  ornaments  placed  one  above  another.  In  this  design 
are  found  numerous  conventionalized  fishes. 

CIRCLE-ORNAMENTS.  —  In  a  few  ornaments  the  circle  is  also  used  as  a  funda 
mental  form.  Figs.  10  and  n  are  both  Gilyak  birch-bark  patterns  used  for  an 
embroidery  that  was  plaited  into  the  hair  of  little  children  in  ancient  times,  but  is 

now  out  of  fashion.  Both  of  these  consist 
of  combinations  of  circles  and  spirals.  In 
Fig.  10  the  motives  are  arranged  in  a 
series  of  horizontal  rows,  only  two  of 


FIG.  10  (,',«»  d).      Birch-bark  Pattern  for  Embroidery.     Tribe, 
Gilyak.     Height,  17  cm. 

which  contain  spirals.  In  Fig.  11  five  rows  may  be  distinguished,  the  two  upper 
ones  being  perfectly  symmetrical. 

In  Fig.  6,  Plate  xv,  we  observe  a  new  motive  of  the  circle-ornament,  obtained 
by  describing  circles  so  that  they  intersect  each  other. 

THE  COCK.  —  The  animal  which  plays  a  predominant  part  in  the  ornamental 
art  of  all  the  Amur  peoples,  and  is  more  frequently  reproduced  than  all  other 
animals  together,  is  the  cock.  This  circumstance  is  the  more  conspicuous,  since 
the  cock  is  not  a  native  of  the  Amur  country,  but  was  introduced  from  China, 
and  recently,  of  course,  by  the  Russians.  Nowadays  there  are  some  Gold  who 
raise  poultry  in  their  houses.  The  Gilyak  on  the  northeastern  coast  of  Saghalin, 
excepting  a  few  who  had  chanced  to  see  a  Russian  village,  never  saw  a  cock, 
but  they  know  and  explain  it  by  their  ornaments.  They  call  it  piikx,  a  word 
apparently  derived  from  the  Goldian  and  Olcha  word  pokko,  that  may  be  traced 
back  to  fakira  gaslia  of  the  Manchu  language.  Another  Goldian  term,  chokd, 
appears  likewise  in  Manchu,  and  is  perhaps  allied  to  the  Mongol  takiya. 


20  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

Since  the  cock  is  a  new-comer  in  that  region,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  plays 
no  part  in  the  mythology  of  the  natives,  as  it  does  with  the  Chinese.  In  their 
opinion,  the  cock  is  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  because  it  announces  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  Besides  the  earthly  cocks,  there  is  a  heavenly  cock,  which,  perched  on  a 
tree,  sings  at  sunrise.  This  tree  is  the  willow,  which  also  symbolizes  the  sun. 
The  cock  is  sometimes  called  in  Chinese  "  he  who  enlightens  the  night ;  "  and  the 
sun,  "the  golden  cock."  Besides,  it  belongs  to  the  class  of  animals  that  protect 
man  from  the  evil  influences  of  demons.  Live  white  cocks  are  sometimes  used 
in  funeral  rites. 

Regarding  the  representation  of  the  cock  in  Chinese  art,  only  a  few  general 
facts  may  be  stated,  as  this  branch  of  research  is  little  explored,  and  investiga 
tions  of  ornaments  have  unfortunately  been  almost  neglected.  Japanese  art  is 
based  wholly  on  Chinese,  and  the  ground  on  which  it  stands  is  somewhat  better 
known.  The  ordinary  domestic  fowls  are  frequently  depicted  by  Japanese  artists, 
the  cock  being  the  favorite  among  them.  It  is  painted  on  hanging  scrolls,  and 
modelled  in  wood,  bronze,  porcelain,  and  other  materials.  Most  frequent  and 
admired  is  the  painted  design  of  a  cock  standing  on  a  drum  (taiko)  ;  and  in  this 
case  the  sides  (or  one  side)  of  the  drum  are  decorated  with  a  triskeles  (tomoye  or 
mitsutomoye).  This  is  the  well-known  circular  diagram  divided  into  three  segments 
(see  Figs.  2-9,  Plate  xvi). 

Single  Cocks.  —  On  Plate  vi  we  have  four  examples  of  the  cock  drawn  true 
to  nature.  Fig.  i  shows  the  typical  form  of  cock  cut  out  of  paper,  and  used  as 
a  pattern  for  embroidery.  Head  and  eye  are  circular,  the  beak  semicircular. 
On  the  head  is  a  bipartite  crest  shaped  like  a  fish-tail.  To  the  back  is  attached  a 
quadrifid  wing,  and  a  tripartite  tail  almost  convoluted.  The  feet  are  missing. 
On  the  body  is  a  conventionalized  fish,  the  upper  border-line  of  which  runs 
parallel  to  the  outline  of  the  cock's  body  ;  the  under  border-line,  shaped  partly 
like  a  brace,  partly  like  an  invected  line,  being  composed  of  three  portions, 
indicating  head,  body,  and  tail.  Fig.  2  is  an  embroidery-pattern  representing 
a  similar  type  of  cock,  but  with  some  remarkable  differences.  This  cock  holds  a 
fish  in  its  beak.  The  motive  is,  of  course,  far  from  being  realistic.  It  does 
not  convey  the  idea  that  the  cock  devours  the  fish  :  its  meaning  is  purely  em 
blematical.  The  wing-feathers  are  indicated  by  four  teeth,  projecting  from  a  line 
generated  from  the  beak,  which  line  continues  into  a  scroll  parallel  to  the  out 
line  of  the  body,  and  representing  a  fish-tail.  The  tail-feathers  are  highly 
developed,  showing  six  parallel  flukes.  The  body  is  cut  into  a  double  spiral. 
The  space  between  the  beak  and  neck  of  the  cock  is  so  formed  as  to  represent 
a  bird's  beak. 

Fig.  3,  Plate  vi,  is  a  weaving-pattern,  whether  of  Chinese  or  Japanese 
provenience  is  uncertain.  It  consists  of  circular  fields  in  which  are  designed 
realistic  cocks,  whose  somewhat  stiff  forms  are  attributable  to  the  technique 
of  weaving.  Comb,  beak,  eyes,  feet,  feathers,  plumage,  and,  in  all,  nine  wing 
and  tail  feathers,  are  indicated.  There  are  slight  but  delicate  differences  in 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  VI. 


xW? 


/^-%w 


Decorative  Art  oi'  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  21 

the  forms  of  the  bodies,  the  attitudes,  and  the  manner  of  stepping,  of  the  single 
birds. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  vi,  is  an  ornamentation  on  the  surface  of  a  birch-bark  hat,  the 
rim  of  which  is  covered  with  an  uninterrupted  sequence  of  double  spirals  sending 
off  little  branchlets.  In  the  main  field  three  naturalistic  cocks  standing  upright 
are  observed,  beak  and  eye  being  indicated,  a  circle  being  placed  over  their  heads, 
and,  what  is  most  singular,  two  long  stretched-out  feet  with  spurs  are  to  be  seen. 
The  pinions  are  represented  by  a  semicircle  with  a  recurved  hook  on  one  side  ; 
the  tail,  by  a  spiral  with  short  appendage  of  a  form  similar  to  that  on  the  rim, 
above  which  are  three  tail-feathers.  On  the  body  we  see  a  picture  of  a  fish 
consisting  of  two  parts,  —  the  head  and  the  tapering  body.  It  is  worthy  of  note, 
in  what  graceful  forms  the  outlines  of  the  bodies  of  the  two  animals  are  adapted 
and  assimilated  to  each  other. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  vn,  represents  the  side  of  a  Goldian  birch-bark  basket.  The 
decorative  field  is  enclosed  by  a  triple  border  consisting  of  a  meander,  an  invected 
line,  and  a  row  of  braces  which  are  apparently  derived  from  the  form  of  the 
cock-spur,  and  which  I  have  therefore  styled  "  spur-ornaments."  The  rectangle 
is  divided  into  two  parts  which  are  separated  by  three  figures,  —  a  carp  realistically 
drawn  («),  a  large  conventionalized  fish  with  long  prominent  fin  (/;),  and  a 
small  conventionalized  fish  (c).  In  the  field  on  the  right  two  cocks  are  visible, 
their  heads  turned  downward,  and  in  their  beaks  trichotomous  fishes  convention 
alized  in  the  same  form  as  in  c.  The  four  tail-feathers  are  turned  upward  ;  and 
the  bent  feet,  stretched  out  to  both  sides,  are  remarkably  long.  The  feet  of  the 
bird  on  the  right  terminate  in  a  mucronated  process,  in  a  style  assimilated  to  that 
of  the  tail-feathers,  whereas  on  the  other  side  they  run  parallel  to  each  other. 
The  space  between  these  two  birds  is  filled  with  drawings  of  fishes,  —  between 
their  heads  the  rather  natural-looking  fish  d ;  between  their  tail-feathers  the  tail  of  a 
fish  (e),  apparently  lacking  a  head  ;  and  between  their  bodies  the  rosette/,  the  four 
leaves  of  which  show  the  same  form  as  the  fish-body  in  </.  On  the  other  side  of 
this  rectangular  field  we  see  two  cocks,  one  above  the  other,  the  upper  of  which 
is  looking  toward  the  left,  and  the  under  one  toward  the  right.  The  style  of 
drawing  of  these  two  birds  tallies  with  that  of  the  other  two,  except  that  the  eyes 
are  not  indicated  by  dots,  as  in  those,  and  that  they  hold  in  their  beaks,  not  one 
fish,  but  each  two  fishes.  Both  of  these  fishes  are  scalloped  on  the  upper  edge  ; 
but  in  the  lower  fish,  that  terminates  in  a  scroll,  the  scallops  are  more  sharply  cut. 
In  the  body  of  the  under  fish  the  design  of  a  bipartite  fish  is  represented,  and 
runs  parallel  to  the  outlines  of  the  fish.  In  the  upper  cock  the  pinions  are 
symbolized  by  a  spiral,  which,  however,  is  disconnected  from  its  body  ;  whereas  in 
the  lower  cock,  in  lieu  of  spirals,  are  two  comma-shaped  figures  (g;  li)  which 
seem  to  be  derived  from  the  fish-body.  To  the  extreme  left,  beyond  //,  is 
a  very  curious  form  of  a  conventionalized  fish,  made  up  of  a  circle  and  a 
curved  serpentine  stripe.  The  feet  of  the  cocks  are  fashioned  in  the  same 
way  as  those  of  the  neighboring  birds  on  the  other  side,  except  that  here 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

an    oval-shaped    figure    is    inserted,   connecting   the    body  with    the    stripes    in 
dicating  the  feet. 

Combined  Cocks,  Type  A.  —  Figs.  2  and  3,  Plate  vn,  repTesent  two  Gilyak 
bear-spears  made  of  iron.  The  greater  part  of  the  design  is  inlaid  with  silver,  and 
the  portions  shown  in  hachure  are  inlaid  copper  and  brass.  On  the  blade  of  Fig.  2 
are  two  single  cocks  symmetrically  arranged,  each  with  a  circle  in  front  of  the 
beak,  the  body  and  tail  shaped  like  a  fish.  This  circular  object  was  explained  to  me 
by  natives  as  a  grain  of  wheat  that  the  bird  is  about  to  swallow  ;  but  this  expla 
nation  seems  to  have  arisen  after  the  true  and  original  meaning  had  been  forgot 
ten.  It  is  rather  more  probable  that  the  circle  which  is  generally  between  two 
cocks  facing  each  other,  or  in  front  of  a  single  one,  represents  the  sun,  which, 
according  to  Chinese  mythology,  belongs  to  the  cock.  In  fact,  the  sun  is  repre 
sented  on  mythological  pictures  of  the  Gold  as  a  simple  circle,  or  as  two  concen 
tric  circles,  with  two  diameters  at  right  angles  to  each  other.  This  particular 
type  of  single  cock  appears  doubled  in  Fig.  3  in  such  a  way  that  the  two  roosters 
face  each  other,  and  hold  one  circle  in  common  between  their  beaks  ;  this  is  the 
attitude  called  "  combatant  "  in  heraldry,  and  this  frequently  occurring  typical 
device  we  shall  designate  for  brevity  "Type  A."  On  this  blade  we  see,  all 
together,  two  symmetrical  pairs  of  such  combatant  cocks,  easily  distinguished  as 
birds,  particularly  by  their  crests  ;  feet  and  wings  being  omitted,  as  in  the  preced 
ing  case,  and  only  the  tail-feathers  denoted.  Besides  these  approximately  natu 
ralistic  cocks,  which  are  explained  and  recognized  as  such  also  by  the  natives, 
there  are  other  purely  geometrical  designs  on  these  blades,  which  seem  to  have  a 
certain  connection  with  the  cock-ornament,  although  we  cannot  prove  that  they 
are  derived  and  developed  directly  from  it.  The  native  interpreters  deny  that 
they  mean  cocks,  or  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  In  Fig.  2  we  see,  next  to 
the  single  cock,  a  combined  figure  placed  around  a  circle,  and  terminating  in 
a  helical  line  ;  if  there  were  an  indication  of  a  comb,  the  components  of  this 
figure  might  be  regarded  as  cocks.  The  following  figures  consist  of  a  pair  of 
combined  triskeles  connected  by  an  oval,  two  arms  of  the  triskeles  being  spirals. 
There  is  also  a  geometrical  repetition  of  the  combatant  cocks  on  Fig.  3,  the  heads 
ending  in  simple  scrolls,  and  the  tails  in  convoluted  forms.  The  animal  at  the 
upper  end  of  this  blade  is  explained  to  be  a  fox  devouring  a  carp,  and  that  on  the 
raised  medial  line  at  the  lower  end  is  said  to  be  a  lizard.  There  is  also  a  lizard 
on  the  corresponding  part  of  the  other  spear,  and,  a  little  farther  below,  a 
flat  fish. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  vn,  shows  an  embroidery  made  of  reindeer-hair,  probably  of  Ya 
kut  origin.  We  observe  here  the  type  of  the  two  combatant  footless  cocks,  whose 
beaks,  heads,  eyes,  long-extended  bodies,  and  four  tail-feathers  each,  are  distinctly 
marked.  In  the  beak  of  each  is  an  oval  object,  the  two  uniting  into  one  figure. 
Under  these  cocks  we  observe  a  symmetrical  geometric  figure  composed  of 
spirals  and  curves,  which,  however,  is  nothing  more  than  an  ornamental  sketch 
showing,  as  it  were,  the  reflected  images  of  the  cocks  above.  Corresponding 


Memoirs  Am.   Mus.  Nat,  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  VII. 


Decorativu  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  23 

parts  in  the  real  image  and  its  counterpart  are  designated  by  the  same  letters. 
The  head  of  the  cock  a,  for  instance,  is  expressed  by  the  spiral  a'  ;  the  oval 
b  corresponds  to  the  portion  b',  somewhat  more  extended,  and  connected  with  the 
body  c'.  The  tail-feathers  d  and  e  are  reproduced  below  in  a  scroll  d',  with 
a  semicircle  c'  attached  to  it. 

Fig.  5,  Plate  vu,  represents  an  ornament  on  the  upper  part  of  the  leg  of  a 
pair  of  boots  from  the  Orochon  on  Ussuri  River.  These  boots  are  made  of  elk- 
skin.  The  decorated  section  consists  of  two  fields,  the  upper  ornaments  being 
painted  on  fish-skin  in  red,  blue,  yellow,  and  black  ;  those  below  being  cut  out  of 
fish-skin  dyed  black,  and  attached  with  red,  yellow,  and  blue  thread  to  a  piece  of 
cloth,  which  is  sewed  to  the  elk-skin.  There  are  two  combatant  cocks  standing 
upright  in  the  lower  design,  and,  what  is  most  remarkable,  they  even  have  spurs 
in  the  form  of  a  brace,  which  is  rarely  found  on  other  patterns.  On  the  paint 
ings  the  same  picture  is  reproduced,  showing  the  cocks  also  with  spurs  and 
a  spiral  and  some  strange  figures  in  the  body,  the  latter  of  which  may  perhaps  be 
traced  back  in  part  to  the  design  of  a  spur. 

Fig.  6,  Plate  vn,  is  an  embroidery-pattern  cut  out  of  paper,  and  is  used  on 
the  upper  of  a  woman's  shoe.  It  shows  the  cocks,  Type  A,  in  a  nearly  heraldic 
attitude,  the  heads  treated  merely  ornamentally,  the  wing-feather  as  a  scroll,  and 
the  tail  as  a  fish-tail.  Fig.  7  is  a  paper  pattern  for  embroidering  gloves,  the 
larger  portion  on  the  right  being  used  on  the  back,  and  the  other  for  the  thumb, 
the  motive  being  exactly  the  same  as  in  the  foregoing  figure  with  slight  modifi 
cations  in  form.  These  show  how  the  same  pattern  is  assimilated  to  an  altered 
space,  additions  and  omissions  being  made  according  to  the  variation  in  the  space 
to  be  filled.  In  this  way  on  the  larger  design  the  forms  of  the  body,  tail,  and  wings 
have  been  correspondingly  enlarged.  On  the  smaller  piece  the  comb  has  been 
omitted  on  account  of  lack  of  space,  and  the  two-lobed  wattle  of  the  larger 
cocks  has  shrunk  into  one  small  knob.  In  both  groups,  fishes  are  attached  to 
the  wing-feathers  :  on  the  right  side  of  the  pattern  a  little  fish  is  clinging  to  the 
outer  line  of  the  scroll,  whereas  in  the  smaller  cocks  it  lies  inside  of  the  scroll,  and 
forms  its  starting-point.  In  both  figures  the  cocks  lean  toward  a  wave-line,  having 
on  the  under  part  curved  prongs  agreeing  in  form  with  the  cock's  tail-feathers. 
In  Fig.  6,  where  the  same  motive  occurs,  we  see  a  close  connection  between  this 
part  and  the  cock  itself,  so  that  they  form  a  real  unit.  In  Fig.  7,  however,  the 
cock  itself  has  a  highly  developed  tail-feather  immediately  adjoining  its  body,  so 
that  we  meet  with  two  tail-feathers,  one  above  the  other,  on  these  designs.  The 
question  arises,  Does  the  under  tail-feather  suggest  the  existence  of  another, 
strongly  conventionalized  cock,  or  is  it  merely  an  ornamental  addition  ? 

Figs,  i  and  2  on  Plate  vm  represent  embroideries  designed  for  trimming  the 
pocket  of  a  shirt.  Here  two  combatant  cocks  are  grouped  around  a  central  ver 
tical  axis.  In  the  one  figure,  head,  eye,  body,  wing  and  tail  feathers,  are  clearly 
to  be  distinguished.  The  feet  are  missing,  and  on  the  body  of  each  bird  is  a  con 
ventionalized  fish,  the  head  and  tail  of  which  are  discernible  as  separate  parts. 


24  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

These  two  cocks  are  resting  on  a  simple  geometrical  figure,  which  is  perhaps  to 
be  regarded  as  a  strong  conventionalization  of  another  cock.  The  pattern  Fig.  2 
becomes  intelligible  by  comparing  it  with  the  preceding  one.  It  represents  a 
stage  of  conventionalization  much  further  advanced  than  is  seen  in  the  first  one. 
The  body  is  merely  indicated  by  a  spiral,  neck  and  head  simply  by  the  continua 
tion  of  the  scroll-line  bent  upward  and  slightly  curved  to  the  side,  the  tail  being 
in  the  form  of  an  ornamental  double  fish-tail.  The  bifurcated  arms  projecting 
on  either  side  above  the  two  cocks  are  meant  for  fishes,  which  are  essentially 
characterized  by  the  form  of  the  tail. 

The  question  as  to  how  the  motives  hitherto  discussed,  especially  the  com 
batant  cocks,  were  derived  from  Chinese  art,  whether  entirely  or  partially,  cannot 
as  yet  be  satisfactorily  answered.  Notwithstanding  this  fact,  some  material  may 
be  adduced  from  which  to  draw  nearer  to  the  solution  of  this  problem. 

Some  Chinese  Prototypes.  —  Fig.  3,  Plate  vin,  a  Chinese  weaving-pattern  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  is  inserted  here  simply  to  illustrate  the  idea  of  the  com 
batant  birds  as  employed  in  Chinese  art.  Here  two  pairs  of  such  birds  are 
grouped  around  a  floral  device,  so  that  the  style  of  the  head  and  the  body  of  the 
bird  depends  largely  on  that  of  the  foiling,  and  thus  shows  certain  deviations  from 
the  forms  seen  in  our  Siberian  patterns. 

Figs.  4  and  5  of  the  same  plate  are  likewise  weaving-designs,  from  the  Konig- 
liche  Kunstgewerbe  Museum  in  Berlin.  Although  the  origin  of  these  fabrics  is 
given  in  the  catalogue  as  "  Orient,  I7th-i8th  centuries,"  yet  without  doubt  they 
are  of  Chinese  creation,  at  least  as  regards  the  pattern.  In  the  centre  of  Fig.  4 
we  see  a  conventionalized  tree  (a),  at  the  top  of  which  are  two  bird-heads  (b)  beak 
to  beak.  Two  heads  of  the  same  style  are  visible  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  but  at  a 
short  distance  from  each  other.  A  perfect  representation  of  the  cock  appears  in 
c :  the  comb  (designated  by  three  lines),  the  pinions,  the  tail-feathers,  the  feet 
(indicated  in  a  way  similar  to  that  of  the  comb),  are  all  shown.  Under  the  throat 
is  a  rectangle,  which  seems  to  correspond  to  the  circular  object  that  the  bird  usu 
ally  holds  in  its  beak  in  the  Siberian  designs.  That  all  forms  are  square  here  which 
are  round  there,  is  due  solely  to  the  technique  of  weaving.  The  cock  with  out 
spread  wings,  its  head  stretched  forward,  is  represented  in  the  figures  marked  d ; 
whereas  <?  reproduces  the  bird  in  a  walking  attitude,  with  head  erect.  Both  these 
cocks  (d  and  e)  are  placed  sideways,  so  that  their  heads  nearly  touch  each  other. 
In  the  corresponding  figures,  f,  one  may  recognize  the  cock  in  a  standing  or 
squatting  position,  the  two  being  combined  in  the  picture  ^  into  one  escutcheon- 
like  unit,  the  heads  looking  in  opposite  directions.  The  smaller  design  above  (//) 
shows  an  advanced  stage  of  conventionalization  of  the  same  conception  ;  and  in 
i,  still  farther  above,  only  the  head  and  crest  of  the  cock  are  distinguishable.  The 
combination  of  these  three  figures,  g,  h,  and  /,  together  with  the  lateral  types  b 
and  the  additional  ramifications  (/)  on  either  side,  seem  to  indicate  that  the  artist 
may  have  intended  to  suggest,  in  the  figure  as  a  whole,  a  tree.  On  this  pattern, 
then,  we  meet  with  five  different  types  of  cock.  The  style  of  design  shown  in 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist..  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  VIII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  25 

Fig.  5  is  allied  to  the  preceding.  In  the  centre  are  two  birds  perching  to  the 
right  and  left  of  a  tree.  Very  likely  a  cock  is  intended  in  this  case,  the  crest  on 
the  head  being  visible,  the  wattle  under  the  throat,  the  feet,  the  outspread  wings, 
and  the  tail-feathers.  Above  the  tree  and  the  two  large  birds  we  observe  three 
small  birds,  one  of  which  seems  to  be  perched  on  the  top  of  the  tree,  which  recalls 
perfectly  the  perching  cocks  on  Siberian  fish-skin  garments  (see  Plates  xxix 
and  xxx).  The  form  of  the  tail,  and,  still  more,  the  object  held  in  the  beak, 
admit  no  doubt  as  to  its  significance.  Also  the  various  patterns  employed  on  either 
side  of  this  picture  remind  one,  in  their  exterior  form,  of  some  compositions  oc 
curring  on  the  fish-skin  garments,  although  an  exact  identification  is  impossible. 
The  parts  projecting  from  the  hatched  portions,  and  particularly  those  branching 
off  from  the  vertical  line  below,  appear  to  represent  bird-heads.  Still  more  diffi 
cult  to  explain  is  the  row  of  six  figures  across  the  bottom.  In  the  upper  part  of 
these  may  be  recognized  cocks,  which  in  the  three  figures  on  the  right-hand  side 
hold  their  heads  bent  to  the  right,  and  on  the  other  side  to  the  left.  In  the 
rooster  on  the  left  the  eye  is  missing,  which  is  not  the  case  in  the  birds  on  the 
right  side.  Slight  deviations  from  symmetry  may  also  be  noticed  in  the  figures 
above.  It  is  possible,  and  very  probable  too,  that  other  pictures  of  cocks  or  other 
birds  may  be  contained  in  this  composition. 

Combined  Cocks,  Type  B.  — There  are  also  combinations  of  two  cocks,  their 
backs  contiguous,  and  necks  bent  in  opposite  directions,  which  for  convenience 
we  shall  call  "Type  B."  This  occurs  on  Fig.  i,  Plate  ix,  a  pattern  cut  out  of 
birch-bark,  that  serves  as  a  foundation  for  an  embroidered  pocket.  The  bodies 
of  the  birds  consist  here  of  mere  compound  spirals.  The  heads  are  not  repre 
sented,  from  lack  of  space,  but  the  oval  objects  belonging  to  them  are  visible. 
The  curved  offshoots  at  the  bottom  of  the  spirals  seem  to  indicate  feet. 

The  ornaments  represented  in  Fig.  2,  Plate  ix,  are  cut  out  of  birch-bark  and 
sewed  to  a  birch-bark  hat.  They  are  put  on  in  three  rows  around  the  hat,  each 
row  containing  four  double  cocks  executed  in  an  ornamental  style.  In  the  outer 
most  row  on  the  border  the  tail-feathers  are  easily  discerned.  The  body  is  indi 
cated  by  a  spiral,  to  which  a  circle  is  joined.  The  two  heads  are  placed  together 
so  as  to  form  a  rhomboidal  figure.  These  eight  cocks  are  dyed  blue.  On  the 
edge  between  the  tail-feathers  are  four  single  pieces  dyed  black.  These  are 
ornamental  survivals  of  the  cock's  spurs.  The  cocks  in  the  middle  row  have  their 
heads  distinctly  marked,  and  two  circles  on  each  side  of  the  neck.  Their  bodies 
have  nearly  the  shape  of  the  triskeles.  These  are  colored  red,  but  the  heads  are 
not  dyed  at  all.  The  circles  are  blackened.  The  cocks  of  this  row  are  ornamen 
tally  connected  with  those  in  the  outer  circle  at  their  heads,  and  with  those  of  the 
inner  row  at  their  tails.  This  central  row  shows  the  most  conventionalized  forms 
of  the  cock.  If  we  imagine  a  line  drawn  through  the  two  points  where  the  tail- 
feathers  of  the  outer  row  come  in  contact  and  where  those  of  the  middle  row 
meet,  we  shall  be  able  to  distinguish  the  two  united  cocks  of  the  third  row. 
Here  the  two  heads  have  coalesced  into  an  ellipsoid  which  has  a  circle  on  either 


26  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

side,  and  the  bodies  are  adapted  to  the  top  of  the  conical  hat.     Heads  and  circles 
are  colored  blue,  and  the  other  parts  are  blackened. 

In  Fig.  3,  Plate  ix,  is  reproduced  a  painting  on  the  upper  part  of  a  pair  of 
fish-skin  leggings.  Across  the  extreme  upper  edge  is  a  border  of  black  ;  and  of 
the  two  ornamented  fields  below,  the  upper  is  red,  the  under  one  blue.  The  lat 
ter  is  edged  with  a  narrow  red  band.  The  lines  of  the  pattern  are  painted  with 
black  China  ink.  In  the  illustration,  only  a  portion  of  the  leggings  is  repre 
sented.  The  ornament,  however,  is  continued  to  both  sides,  and  terminates  at 
some  distance  from  the  seam.  The  design  is  painted  on  a  special  piece  of  fish- 
skin,  which  is  sewed  to  the  material  of  the  leggings  proper.  In  the  under  section 
we  see  on  the  extreme  sides  a  band-spiral  terminating  in  a  fish-tail.  This  one  is 
continued  toward  the  other  side  so  as  to  form  a  double  spiral,  one  of  which 
is  disconnected  and  represents  a  conventionalized  fish  of  semicircular  form. 
Under  the  central  pair  of  spirals  are  three  pairs  of  corresponding  fishes,  one 
below  another,  the  undermost  of  which  is  connected  with  the  spirals  by  a  hook 
resembling  a  bird-head.  The  upper  of  these  three  pairs  of  fishes  finds  its  coun 
terpart  in  the  figure  placed  above  the  central  spirals  by  way  of  rounding  off  the 
design.  That  this  device  also  has  arisen  from  the  combination  of  two  conven- 
tionalix.ed  fishes,  is  perceived  by  a  glance  at  the  corresponding  design  on  the 
upper  section,  in  which  the  head  of  the  fish  is  distinctly  marked  off  from  its 
body.  On  this  border  we  see  spirals  connected  with  fish-tails,  and  in  the  centre 
compound  but  disconnected  spirals.  Above,  on  the  spirals,  are  visible  tiny  off 
shoots,  looking,  as  it  were,  like  survivals  of  bird-heads. 

An  embroidery-pattern  made  of  birch-bark,  for  use  on  an  ear-lappet,  is  shown 
in  Fig.  4,  Plate  ix.  Above  and  at  the  base  of  this  pattern  are  two  distinct 
groups  of  roosters.  In  the  upper  group  the  heads  (<i)  are  turned  upward  and 
away  from  each  other ;  the  body  is  represented  by  a  closed  spiral,  the  interior  of 
which  assumes  the  conventional  form  of  a  fish.  In  the  under  group  the  head  of 
the  cock  (/;)  is  cut  out  of  birch-bark,  body  and  feet  being  likewise  indicated,  and 
the  pinions  by  an  exaggeratedly  large  spiral.  Here  also  occurs  the  type  B. 
What  significance  the  additional  arms  terminating  in  the  circles  c,  in  the  centre 
of  the  figure,  may  have,  is  hard  to  decide  :  they  are  either  ornamental  fillings,  or 
perhaps  reminiscences  of  the  circular  figures  connected  with  the  cock.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  circular  forms  d. 

Fig.  5,  Plate  ix,  represents  a  boot,  the  leg  of  which  is  made  of  cloth,  the 
foot  part  of  seal-skin,  and  the  upper,  the  ornaments  on  which  are  cut  out  in 
relief,  of  sturgeon-skin.  The  lower  part  of  this  ornament  is  made  up  of  two 
pairs  of  facing  spirals,  which  are  connected  with  each  other  by  a  heart-shaped 
figure.  On  this  heart  are  drawn  two  ovals  combined  as  in  an  8,  that  is  usually 
placed  between  the  beaks  of  two  combatant  cocks.  For  this  reason  it  may  very 
probably  be  correct  to  suggest  that  the  two  curves  bent  toward  the  border-lines 
to  the  right  and  left  represent  birds'  necks,  and  that  we  have  here  the  same 
cock  type  as  occurs  in  Fig.  i  of  this  plate.  The  upper  double  spirals  continue 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  IX. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  27 

into  figures  resembling  the  capital  letter  R.  In  this  appendage  the  usual  form 
of  the  conventionalized  fish  may  easily  be  recognized. 

The  knife-case  seen  in  Fig.  6,  Plate  ix,  is  manufactured  of  sturgeon-skin. 
The  lines  of  the  decorative  design,  which  stand  out  in  relief,  are  produced  by  cut 
ting  the  cuticle  away  with  a  knife.  Considering  the  brittleness  of  the  material 
and  the  difficulty  of  its  execution,  the  regularity  of  the  forms  and  the  graceful 
sweep  of  the  lines  are  most  admirable.  The  ornamentation  consists  of  a  clever 
combination  of  compound  spirals  and  conventionalized  fishes,  so  arranged  that 
the  whole  forms  a  coherent  structure.  Above  are  to  be  noted  two  convention 
alized  fishes  with  round  heads  at  both  ends.  Then  follow  two  spirals  of  four 
windings  each,  terminating  in  a  double  loop.  Below  them  is  a  palmetto-like 
figure,  from  which  spirals  arise  on  both  sides,  and  under  these  are  single  conven 
tionalized  fishes.  Then  follow  two  spirals  joined  to  the  figure  above,  which  seem 
to  be  conceived  of  as  cock-bodies,  since  the  curved  band  evolving  from  them  corre 
sponds  to  the  form  of  the  cock's  neck. 

A  tapestry  of  rather  old  Japanese  workmanship  is  represented  in  Fig.  7, 
Plate  ix.  The  motive  of  the  pattern  is  a  double  spiral,  of  a  somewhat  angular 
form,  due  to  the  technique  of  weaving.  Here  are  seen  spirals  with  two 
offshoots,  and  again  others  in  pairs,  one  of  which  has  four  branchlets  and 
the  other  one  branchlet.  These  embellished  spirals  appear  in  the  same  manner 
on  our  Siberian  patterns,  where  they  have  undoubtedly  been  proved  to  be 
closely  connected  with  the  cock-ornaments.  This  Japanese  pattern  may  also 
tend  to  symbolize  conventionalized  birds,  in  which  heads,  body-spirals,  and  feet 
may  be  discerned. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  x,  shows  part  of  the  decoration  on  the  side  of  a  birch-bark  basket. 
The  leading  motive  is  the  realistic  representation  of  cocks  of  Type  B,  the  tail- 
feathers  being  turned  toward  each  other,  and  the  heads  on  opposite  sides,  but  so 
turned  that  the  birds  look  at  each  other.  Under  each  of  their  beaks  is  a  circle. 
The  wing-feathers  are  characterized  by  three,  the  tail-feathers  by  four,  lobes. 
Fishes  are  drawn  on  their  bodies,  but  of  two  different  forms,  which  agree  in  the 
two  outer  and  two  inner  cocks  respectively.  In  the  former  the  tail  tapers  to  a 
point,  while  in  the  latter  it  is  bifurcated.  The  two  inner  cocks  have,  besides,  a 
circular  figure  just  below  the  neck,  which  is  missing  in  those  placed  outside.  The 
cocks  are  encircled  by  double  lines,  which  are  gracefully  adapted  to  the  form  of 
the  body,  and  are  adorned  above  with  flame-shaped  lobes  approaching  in  form 
those  representing  wing  and  tail  feathers.  In  the  centre  of  the  design  are  two 
strongly  conventionalized  cocks,  whose  heads  lie  on  the  extreme  sides,  turned  in 
the  direction  of  the  cocks  above  mentioned.  Body  and  wing-feathers  are  marked 
by  two  equal  spirals.  This  entire  decoration  is  bordered  above  and  below  by  a 
chessboard-like  pattern.  The  vivid  power  of  motion  which  pervades  this  whole 
composition  shows  a  wonderful  degree  of  artistic  ingenuity. 

In  the  next  illustration  (Fig.  2,  Plate  x)  is  seen  a  painting  across  the  top 
of  the  right-hand  portion  of  a  pair  of  fish-skin  leggings.  The  ornament  itself  is 


28  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

blue  ;  the  two  under  border-lines,  blue  and  red.  In  the  centre  we  see  two  roosters 
with  distinctly  marked  heads  and  eyes.  The  body  is  symbolized  by  a  band- 
spiral  which  starts  from  a  circle  in  the  centre.  The  neck  is  a  continuation  of  the 
border-line  running  parallel  to  the  winding  of  this  spiral.  To  the  beak  of  each 
rooster  is  attached  a  spiral  wound  to  the  right,  the  termination  of  which  is  made 
into  a  bird's  beak  with  a  circle  just  like  the  central  spiral.  Above  it  is  a  conven 
tionalized  fish  with  distinct  tail ;  and  below  it  a  scroll  rolled  into  a  beak  at  the 
end,  with  a  circle  at  its  tip.  Particularly  worthy  of  note  is  the  abrupt  manner  in 
which  the  well-executed  head  of  a  cock,  with  the  usual  oval  object  in  front  of  it,  is 
placed  under  the  scroll  to  the  right,  —  another  evidence  of  the  fact  that  any  spiral 
can  be  made  to  symbolize  a  cock's  body. 

Fig.  3,  Plate  x,  represents  an  embroidery  on  the  upper  part  of  a  pair  of  leg 
gings  made  of  Chinese  silk.  The  background  consists  of  black  silk  cloth  (hatched 
in  the  drawing),  the  spaces  between  the  embroidered  lines  being  covered  with 
white  silk.  This  design  is  mainly  filled  up  with  two  opposite  swans  fashioned 
like  cocks,  the  long  arched  necks  running  parallel  to  their  oval-shaped  bodies. 
The  heads,  treated  in  the  form  of  scrolls,  are  turned  away  from  each  other,  and 
are  provided  with  beaks  stretched  outward.  Each  body  is  divided  into  halves 
for  the  purpose  of  ornamentation.  In  the  outer  half  are  designed  neck  and  head 
of  a  cock,  a  circle  in  front  of  the  latter  ;  the  inner  halves  are  formed  of  simply- 
wound  spirals.  Between  the  two  halves  is  inserted  a  conventionalized  fish,  which 
continues  above  into  another,  tripartite  fish,  standing  upright.  It  is  an  example 
of  the  same  kind  of  opposite  fishes  rampant  as  in  Figs,  i  and  9  (pp.  16,  18),  and 
frequently  elsewhere.  The  ornament  is  bordered  above  by  a  spur-line  embroidered 
in  green.  On  the  upper  edge  are  represented  triskeles,  singly  and  combined. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  x,  represents  part  of  an  ornament  embroidered  on  a  girdle  of 
black  velvet,  out  of  which  the  patterns  are  cut.  The  edge  of  the  velvet  is  seamed 
with  chain-stitching.  The  threads  selected  are  all  of  dull  colors.  All  negative 
parts  are  filled  up  with  light  yellow  cloth  (hatched  in  the  drawing)  ;  the  positive 
ornament,  therefore,  is  formed  by  the  cut  velvet  parts.  It  is  a  device  composed 
of  a  succession  of  two  different  figures,  one  of  which  has  a  circular  form,  the  other 
an  ellipsoidal.  Complete  symmetry  is  carried  out  inside  of  these  figures  on  either 
side,  as  well  as  above  and  below.  The  velvet,  being  a  somewhat  stiff  and  un 
handy  material,  is  not  favorable  to  the  formation  of  lines,  and  thus  a  degree  of 
conventionalization  is  attained  that  makes  the  development  of  the  ornament  in 
the  oval  drawing  hardly  recognizable.  What  we  observe  are  a  fish-tail,  an  oval 
body,  and  a  figure  distributed  symmetrically  on  both  sides,  in  which,  as  a  rule,  the 
beaks  of  the  opposite  cocks  are  united.  If  we  take  for  granted  that  the  cock's 
head  is  in  this  part,  its  tail  must  needs  be  recognized  in  the  fish-tail,  which  occurs 
not  rarely.  If,  however,  which  is  also  possible,  we  see  the  cock's  head  in  the 
smaller,  under  branch  of  the  fish-tail,  and  attribute  to  the  larger  branch  perhaps 
the  hint  of  a  wing-feather,  then  we  have  here  also  the  type  of  the  opposite  cocks, 
as  in  Figs,  i,  2,  etc.  It  is  therefore  possible  to  recognize  in  this  case  the  head  of 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  X. 


6 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  29 

the  cock  at  both  ends  of  the  body,  a  kind  of  Janus-cock.  A  still  more  striking 
example  of  the  same  case  is  met  with  in  the  two  following  specimens. 

These  are  the  decorated  sides  of  birch-bark  boxes.  In  Fig.  5,  Plate  x,  the 
whole  trapezoidal  piece  is  divided  into  three  fields  ;  the  narrow  strip  below, 
along  the  edge,  being  filled  up  with  a  spur-ornament.  The  trapezoid  above 
it  contains  two  peculiarly  conventionalized  cocks  of  Type  H.  The  two  outer 
cocks  have  their  heads  turned  downward,  and  on  their  bodies  a  realistic  fish, 
in  which  eye,  gill,  and  the  conventional  picture  of  a  fish  are  drawn.  The  tail  of 
the  fish  is  identical  with  the  cock's  head.  Each  of  the  two  inner  cocks  shows 
two  spirals,  the  larger  of  which  seems  to  denote  the  tail-feathers,  and  the 
smaller  one  the  pinions,  completed  by  two  parallel  projections  above  it.  The 
upper  of  these  is  shaped  into  the  conventional  form  of  a  fish  by  the  addition  of  a 
semicircular  figure  indicating  the  fish's  head.  The  two  cocks  in  either  half  of  this 
symmetrical  ornament  are  combined  with  each  other  by  a  wave-line,  the  concav 
ities  of  which  the  cocks  occupy.  The  same  motive  is  met  with  in  the  ornaments 
above  this  trapezoid,  only  that  here  conventionalization  has  advanced  much 
further.  The  heads  may  easily  be  found  by  a  comparison  with  the  cocks  in  the 
centre  below,  the  bodies  being  spirals,  and  the  tail-feathers  joining  above  in 
purely  geometrical  figures.  On  the  ground  of  this  stage  of  conventionalization, 
also,  the  two  tapering  figures  in  the  right  and  left  corners  are  to  be  explained. 
These  corner  figures  proceed  below,  and  each  forms  here  a  fish  rather  true  to 
nature,  although  placed  in  a  kind  of  scroll.  Head,  eye,  the  curved  body,  a  ventral 
fin,  and  the  bipartite  tail  are  discernible. 

The  pattern  Fig.  6,  Plate  x,  is  doubly  symmetrical  above  and  below,  as  well 
as  on  the  right  and  the  left.  The  whole  ornament  can  be  traced  back  to  a  figure 
which  represents  a  wave-line,  in  the  hollows  of  which  two  types  of  cock  are  placed. 
One  of  these  types  has  a  remarkably  long  process  at  the  end  of  the  head,  a  con 
ventionalized  fish  between  the  head  and  this  part,  its  body  being  indicated  by  a 
spiral.  The  other  type  strongly  approaches  that  in  Fig.  5,  in  the  interior  of  the 
central  trapezoid,  with  the  fish-body  attached  to  the  back  part  of  the  head,  as 
there.  The  wing-feather  has  here  become  a  spiral,  as  have  also  the  body  and 
the  tail. 

THE  FISH.  —  That  the  fish  plays  a  very  important  part  in  the  decorative  art 
of  the  Amur  tribes  has  already  become  evident  from  various  examples  in  which  it 
occurred  in  connection  with  the  cock,  sometimes  drawn  on  its  body,  mostly  in 
strongly  conventionalized  form.  We  shall  now  enter  upon  a  special  examination 
of  the  subject,  and  demonstrate  by  some  designs  how  this  conventionalization  has 
developed  from  the  realistic  picture  of  the  fish. 

In  Figs,  i  and  i  a,  Plate  xi,  the  long  and  short  sides  of  a  birch-bark  basket 
of  the  Gold  are  represented,  in  which  portions  of  the  pattern  are  cut  out  of  bark 
and  sewed  on  the  bark  forming  the  basket.  In  Fig.  i  the  arrangement  of  the 
pattern  is  very  gracefully  executed  by  a  finely  drawn  wave-line,  the  course  of 
which  is  interrupted  in  the  centre  by  two  combatant  cocks  designed  almost  true 


30  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 

to  nature.  Their  beaks  cohere.  The  tops  of  their  heads  are  combined  by 
a  figure  composed  of  two  fish-bodies.  Besides,  in  the  body  of  the  two  cocks  con 
ventionalized  fishes  are  incised,  and  from  under  their  throats  depend  two  fishes 
with  heads  downward,  the  eyes  of  which  are  clearly  distinguished.  The  pinions 
are  symbolized  by  a  simple  scroll.  These  latter  parts  described  as  such  have  at 
the  same  time  another  function  :  they  form  the  body  of  a  conventionalized  cock, 
being  above  the  realistic  one  and  cut  out  of  bark.  The  long  outstretched  heads 
of  this  pair  of  cocks  almost  touch  each  other  ;  to  the  head  is  attached  the  upper 
outline  of  the  body  in  a  slight  curve,  which  joins  an  upward-extending  hook  in 
dicating  the  tail.  Over  these  combined  figures  of  cocks  are  two  odd  independent 
bird-heads,  obviously  with  crooked  beaks.  To  the  right  and  left  of  this  central 
oroup  we  see  a  repetition  of  the  same  picture.  Here  we  are  immediately  con 
fronted  by  two  naturalistic  fishes  that  were  explained  as  carp.  In  these  the  head, 
the  eyes,  the  ventral  fins,  and  the  tail  are  expressed.  Incised  on  these  carp  is 
the  image  of  a  conventionalized  fish,  whose  tail  is  turned  toward  the  eye  of  the 
realistic  fish.  The  form  of  the  body  of  the  latter  is  assimilated  to  the  wave-line 
above  it,  which  runs  off  below  into  a  scroll.  The  knob  forming  the  starting-point 
of  this  scroll  represents  at  the  same  time  the  round  object  held  in  the  cock's 
beak ;  and  this  cock's  head  is  really  represented  in  the  succeeding  circuit  of  the 
curve.  These  cocks'  heads,  in  their  turn,  rest  on  the  spirals  below,  symbolizing 
their  bodies  ;  and  these  spirals  are  executed  in  such  a  way  that  in  their  interior  a 
fish-body  with  plainly  distinguished  head,  body,  and  tapering  tail,  is  clinging  closely 
to  them.  Furthermore,  the  spirals  above,  surrounding  the  realistic  carp,  are  at 
the  same  time  symbolical  representatives  of  a  cock's  body,  except  that  here,  un 
like  the  case  below,  the  cocks'  heads  are  put  in  a  realistic  design,  but  in  a  manner 
similar  to  that  in  the  upper  part  of  the  central  figure,  in  which  conventionalized 
heads  are  shown  ornamentally  connected  with  the  adjoining  diametrical  line 
of  the  body  and  tail.  The  short  side  of  the  basket  (Fig.  i  a)  is  bisected  by 
wave-lines  of  a  form  allied  to  that  in  Fig.  i.  The  separation  of  the  fields  is 
effected  by  a  cluster  of  three  downward-extending  fish-heads.  On  either  side  of 
these  are  two  standing  realistic  roosters  with  hooked  beaks,  triskeles-shapecl 
pinions,  fishtail-formed  tail-feathers,  and  feet.  On  both  the  extreme  ends  are 
drawn  two  carp  true  to  nature,  in  an  attitude  as  if  about  to  dive.  They  are  com 
ponents  at  the  same  time  of  a  spiral  ;  the  form  of  their  triskeles-shaped  tails  is 
nearly  identical  with  the  pinions  of  the  two  central  roosters.  In  the  body  of  both 
carps  is  seen  again  a  conventionalized  bipartite  fish.  The  whole  of  this  fish- 
spiral  symbolizes  at  the  same  time  the  body  of  a  cock,  as  is  clearly  pointed  out  by 
the  incised  bird-heads  visible  above  it. 

Figs.  2  and  2  a,  Plate  xi,  represent  the  ornaments  on  the  rim  of  the  cover 
of  a  lacquered  tobacco-box,  the  cover  of  which  is  seen  in  Fig.  18.  They  are 
painted  red  and  light  green,  and  bordered  by  black  lines.  On  the  front  side  of 
the  rim  (Fig.  2)  we  observe  two  small  and  five  large  equal  triangles.  In  the  small 
triangle  to  the  left  there  is  a  fancifully  combined  figure,  showing  in  its  centre  the 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XI. 


la 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  31 

picture  of  a  fish,  from  which  radiate  three  cock-heads  with  circles  before  their 
beaks.  The  two  on  the  left  side  are  shaped  like  triskeles,  the  lower  one  end 
ing  in  a  fish-tail.  The  bird  branching  off  from  the  fish  on  the  right  side  holds  its 
head  turned  downward  to  the  left,  wing  and  feet  being  slightly  symbolized  by  a 
short  crooked  foil,  and  terminating  in  a  disproportionately  extended  fish-tail. 
The  following  isosceles  is  occupied  by  two  conventional,  almost  heraldic  forms  of 
animals  explained  by  natives  as  musk-deer  (see  p.  41  ),  whose  bodies  are  usually 
treated  like  that  of  the  cock,  their  ears  standing  upright,  their  faces  turned  away 
from  each  other,  two  legs  being  indicated  above  the  body,  and  the  other  two 
below  it  ;  the  tail  a  bushy  tuft  consisting  of  five  curved  broaches.  The  animal  is 
shaped  intentionally  in  the  form  of  a  spiral  ;  its  mouth  being  the  starting-point, 
and  one  of  the  fore-legs  the  terminus.  Its  body  is  in  the  form  of  a  fish,  and, 
besides,  in  its  interior  is  a  bipartite  fish  adapted  to  the  outline  of  the  body.  The 
head  of  this  fish  is  directed  downward,  its  eye  distinctly  marked  by  a  circle  and 
its  gill  by  a  crescent,  which  is  somewhat  bigger  in  the  animal  on  the  right  side. 
The  tendency  to  introduce  fishes  into  these  decorations  goes  so  far  as  to  affect 
even  the  clearness  of  the  fundamental  design.  In  this  case  the  ends  of  the;  fore 
most  lobe  of  the  tail  and  of  the  adjoining  hind-leg  are  so  connected  with  each 
other  as  to  leave  space  for  the  design  of  a  conventional  form  of  a  fish  on  the  hind 
part  of  the  deer.  To  see  to  advantage  the  picture  contained  in  the  third  triangle, 
one  should  invert  the  illustration.  Then  it  is  possible  to  observe  the  two  long- 
stretched  heads  of  the  roosters  holding  a  green-colored  circle  between  their  beaks, 
the  pinions  being  duly  indicated  by  a  tricorned  branch,  the  bodies  being  formed 
by  graceful  wave-lines  to  which  cling  two  carp  full  of  life  and  vigor,  characterized 
in  the  usual  way,  and  having,  besides,  a  spinal  fin.  To  the;  tail  of  each  is  joined 
an  S-shaped  fish,  to  the  head  of  which  is  attached  another  fish  with  a  triskeles-like 
tail.  Only  one  half  of  the  following  central  triangle  is  shown  in  the  figure  :  con 
sequently  it  contains  but  one  of  the  combatant  cocks.  In  front  of  its  beak  is 
visible  a  conventionalized  tripartite  fish  with  a  bifurcated  tail.  I;rom  below  the; 
head  of  the  bird  branches  out  to  the  left  a  conventionalized  fish  consisting  of 
head  and  body.  From  the  same  point  proceeds  a  curve  representing  the  bird's 
breast,  and  continuing  to  the  left  into  the  pinions,  sending  three  prongs  to  the 
left  and  one  to  the  right.  The  last  two  offshoots  form  jointly  a  fish-tail. 
Oddly  enough,  the  foot  is  symbolized  by  a  three-lobed  leaf  joined  on  either 
side  by  a  branchlet  which  seems  to  signify  part  of  a  spur.  The  body,  hori 
zontally  placed,  follows  the  outlines  of  the  fish  drawn  into  it.  The  tail  attached 
to  this  part  is  formed  in  a  style  widely  different  from  the  usual  cock-tail,  being 
simply  an  imitation,  or  rather  adaptation,  of  the  musk-deer  tail  in  the  preceding 
triangle. 

Fig.  2  a  shows  a  portion  of  the  ornamentation  a  continuation  of  which  con 
stitutes  the  back  of  the  same  rim.  The  division  of  the  ornamented  surface  is 
executed  here  by  an  elegant  sweep  of  a  wave-line.  In  the  first  concavity  the 
under  part  of  this  wave-line  forms  at  the  same  time  the  outline  of  a  fish  that  clings 


32  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

closely  to  it  (a).  The  head  of  the  fish  is  surmounted  by  a  slight  curve  terminat 
ing  in  two  parallel  branchlets  to  the  right  (&)  and  a  beak-like  figure  to  the  left  (Y). 
It  is  hard  to  decide  whether  this  part  is  intended  for  an  independent  cock,  or 
merely  for  the  tail-feathers  of  that  larger  cock  whose  head  joins  the  body  of  the 
spiral-formed  fish  (<-/)  and  sends  off  a  long  beak  (<?)  in  the  form  of  a  semicircular 
wave.  On  its  head  is  a  crest,  the  shorter  component  of  which  is  treated  as  a 
cock's  beak  (_/),  with  an  oval  in  front  of  it  ;  the  other  makes  a  wide  curve  termi 
nating  in  a  fish-tail  (  ^),  one  branch  of  which  contains  a  dot  for  an  eye,  thus  indicat 
ing  a  bird's  beak,  which  is  corroborated  by  placing  an  ellipsoid  in  front  of  it. 
This  whole  offshoot  has  the  shape  of  a  triskeles.  Returning  to  the  large  cock 
filling  the  middle  ground  of  this  area,  we  see  the  outlines  of  its  body  rendered 
true  to  nature,  and  a  scroll  on  its  hind  part  (d),  to  which  two  feathers  are 
attached,  indicating  the  tail,  or,  if  the  figure  above  the  fish-head  is  correctly  to 
be  interpreted  as  a  cock's  tail,  the  pinions.  In  the  smaller  intervening  part  the 
two  cocks  rampant  are  easily  discernible,  their  feet  united,  the  long  falciform  beaks 
directed  upward  and  the  tails  downward,  the  latter  being  connected  by  a  pair  of 
small  ellipsoids.  In  accordance  with  this,  the  remainder  of  this  ornament  is  self- 
explanatory  :  the  cock  rampant  is  to  be  seen  single  in  one  of  the  following  fields. 

Fig.  3,  Plate  xi,  is  an  ornament  cut  out  of  paper,  which  was  to  serve  as  an 
embroidery-pattern  of  a  bag  for  a  strike-a-light.  The  exquisite  gracefulness  of 
lines  and  the  fine  taste  here  displayed  deserve  special  mention.  The  two  artistic 
fishes  in  the  extreme  lobes  are  explained  as  crucians,  with  ciliated  mouth  ;  the 
whiskers  are  formed  like  a  cock's  comb,  the  under  arm  having  the  shape  of  a 
conventionalized  fish.  The  middle  of  the  centre  is  filled  up  with  two  large 
cocks  rampant,  facing  each  other,  heads  and  necks  recurved,  their  beaks  join 
ing  in  a  long  curve  to  which  two  conventionalized  fishes  are  attached.  The 
outline  of  the  body  of  this  cock,  generally  speaking,  has  the  form  of  a  spiral,  and 
is  a  well-designed  fish  at  the  same  time.  Above  the  head  of  this  fish  is  a  spiral 
with  a  closely  adjoining  strongly  conventional  form  of  a  fish,  this  whole  figure 
being  already  familiar  to  us  as  symbolizing  the  cock's  wing-feathers.  Below  the 
eye  of  the  fish  we  note  a  conspicuous  crescent  accompanied  by  an  ellipse,  ap 
parently  derived  from  the  cock's  beak.  Close  by  it  is  a  well-developed  fish-tail, 
which,  if  the  drawing  be  inverted,  signifies  the  tail  of  this  latter  cock  ;  in  this 
case  the  spiral  containing  the  fish  should  be  considered  as  its  body. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xi,  is  an  ornament  cut  out  of  red  paper  and  pasted  on  a 
triangular  cartoon.  This  object,  hung  to  the  wall,  was  used  as  a  holder  for 
newspapers  by  a  rich  Gold  living  in  Khabarovsk,  who,  as  a  gentleman,  was 
proud  of  having  Russian  papers,  although  he  could  neither  read  nor  write.  The 
ornament  spread  out  along  the  border  consists  of  a  succession  of  spiral  triskeles. 
The  main  field  is  occupied  by  two  spirals  with  two  fishes  adapted  to  the  outline 
of  the  first  winding.  Attached  to  the  ends  of  these  spirals  is  a  triskeles  with 
two  long  arms  and  one  short  one.  The  outer  arm  is  continued  by  a  double 
triskeles  below  ;  the  longer  arm  of  the  latter,  as  well  as  the  adjoining  one  of  the 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  33 

preceding,  has  the  form  of  the  cock's  beak  and  neck.  These  two  arms  form  a 
rounding  whose  space  is  filled  up  by  a  kind  of  trident.  In  the  upper  part  of 
this  decoration  two  triskeles,  with  one  part  shaped  like  a  fish-tail  and  the  other 
like  a  cock's  head,  are  placed  together  in  a  way  similar  to  that  below. 

Fig.  5,  Plate  xi,  is  an  embroidery-pattern  the  ornament  on  the  tinder  part 
of  which  consists  of  four  spirals.  To  the  outside  of  each  of  the  inner  spirals 
clings  a  conventionalized  fish,  the  form  of  which  has  become  somewhat  stiff 
owing  to  the  kind  of  work.  To  the  outer  spirals  below  is  added  a  triskeles  of 
the  well-known  fish-tail  form,  and  at  the  extreme  ends  a  conventionalized  fish 
holding  the  head  downward.  In  the  upper  part  of  this  ornament  we  note  double 
combinations  of  triskeles  in  which  one  arm  is  rolled  in  like  a  scroll,  and  to  which 
ovals  or  circles  are  joined,  as  they  appear  elsewhere  in  front  of  the  cocks'  beaks, 
so  that  here  the  idea  of  conventionalized  cocks  may  be  the  underlying  conception. 

Fig.  6,  Plate  xi,  shows  an  embroidered  collar.  The  ornament  consists  of  a 
double  row.  The  element  of  the  inner  row  is  formed  by  a  wave-line,  which  joins 
in  the  centre  in  a  pair  of  spirals.  In  the  concavities  on  either  side  are  two 
distinctly  designed  cocks  with  fishes  for  their  bodies.  In  this  case,  the  plum 
age  is  marked  on  the  body,  not,  as  elsewhere,  outside  of  it.  The  outer  row  of 
ornaments  is  composed  of  single  pieces  reproducing,  as  it  were,  diagrams  of  the 
cock  holding  the  fish  in  its  mouth,  the  heads  of  the  cocks  being  recurved  so 
that  they  are  turned  toward  each  other  ;  the  fishes  have  the  shape  of  the  triskeles. 

Fig.  7,  Plate  xi,  represents  the  embroidery  on  a  wristlet,  the  design  ex 
emplifying  a  very  curious  amalgamation  of  the  cock  with  the  fish.  The  beak 
of  the  cock  with  the  circular  object  under  it  is  clearly  visible,  as  well  as  the 
form  of  its  body.  All  the  remaining  parts,  however,  are  shaped  like  a  fish, — 
two  dorsal  fins,  at  the  same  time  the  bird's  pinions  ;  the  bipartite  fish-tail,  at  the 
same  time  the  cock's  tail-feathers.  The  close  association  of  both  animals,  and 
their  ornamental  harmony,  have  advanced  to  such  a  degree,  that  one  might  speak 
in  this  case  of  a  cock-fish  or  a  fish-cock,  according  to  the  predominance  of  the  one 
or  the  other  element.  The  other  spirals  occurring  here,  and  the  S-shaped  cocks 
with  two  circles  between  their  beaks,  require  no  further  explanation. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xn,  represents  the  ornamentation  on  the  inside  of  a  birch-bark 
basket.  It  consists  of  three  rows,  one  above  another,  the  uppermost  and  under 
most  containing  the  same  design.  The  middle  field  shows  at  both  ends  two 
naturalistic  cocks  with  long,  bent  beaks,  and  bodies  in  the  form  of  fishes  ;  the 
head  of  the  latter  is  indicated  by  a  scroll.  This  fish-body  is  embedded  in  the 
curve  of  the  wave-line,  between  the  upper  end  of  which  and  the  cock's  head  is 
the  design  of  a  crescent-like  conventionalized  fish,  indicating  at  the  same  time 
pinions.  To  recognize  the  pictures  in  the  two  central  hollows,  the  plate  must  be 
inverted.  Then  we  see  the  cock,  Type  B.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  conven 
tionalized  bipartite  fishes  are  attached  to  the  neck  of  the  cock  in  the  rounding 
between  the  neck  and  the  spiral  body.  In  the  edge  ornaments  we  observe  again 
a  series  of  fish-spirals.  The  fishes  form  here  the  starting-point  of  the  spirals ; 


34 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


their  heads,  eyes,  gills,  bodies,  and  tapering  tails  are  plainly  marked  by  black 
lines.  These  somewhat  angular  spirals  are  rounded  off  above  by  a  projection  in 
which  a  conventionalized  fish  is  drawn. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xit,  is  an  embroidery  for  trimming  the  front  and  upper  edges 
of  a  garment.  This  is  a  very  good  example  for  illustrating  the  amalgamation 
of  the  fish  and  spiral.  It  is  a  continuous  fish-spiral  pattern.  The  basis  of  this 
ornament  is  a  combination  of  a  pair  of  double  spirals  contiguous  to  each  other 
in  the  corner  between  the  upper  and  front  edges.  In  these  spirals  we  see  head 


kL^rp 


body,  and  tail  of  the  fishes  thoroughly  characterized.  In  the  pair  of  spirals  next 
below  this  corner  the  spirals  retain  their  rigid  forms,  and  the  conventionalized  fishes 
combined  with  each  other  are  placed  around  them  independently.  Their  forms 
have  the  usual  fish-outlines,  as  shown  by  a  comparison  with  the  preceding  fishes. 
The  next  spiral  below  differs  from  the  corresponding  first  one  in  that  the  head 
is  not  separated  by  a  special  line  from  the  trunk,  but  only  indicated  in  its  form. 
The  principle  of  the  ornament  on  the  embroidery-pattern  in  Fig.  3,  Plate 
xii,  is  based  on  the  combination  of  facing  spirals,  treated  partly  as  cocks,  partly 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


35 


as  fishes.  In  the  pair  at  the  upper  end  we  see  the  type  B  inverted  ;  beak 
and  head  shaped  like  a  fish-tail,  a  bifurcation  forming  the  pinions,  and  leaving 
between  them  and  the  head  a  space  outlining  the  conventional  form  of  a  fish. 
The  ovals,  semicircular  curves,  and  the  compound  braces  placed  around  the 
spirals  are  well-known  appearances  to  be  traced  back  to  the  cock-ornament.  The 
next  pair  of  spirals  shows  the  pronounced  figure  of  a  fish,  its  two  sides  running 
parallel  to  each  other,  its  head  not  being  especially  marked  off,  as  in  that  seen 
in  Fig.  2  of  this  plate.  The  left  side  ends  in  a  fish-tail,  to  which  is  closely 
joined  a  triskeles  or  a  triskeles-shaped  fish,  suggesting  perhaps  that  the  short 
hook  of  the  first-mentioned  tail  should  be  regarded  as  at  the  same  time  the  beak 
of  a  cock  holding  a  fish. 


Fig.  12  offers  a  very  interesting  pattern  as  showing  the  predominating, 
all-governing  influence  of  the  fish-ornament,  for  the  sake  of  which  all  other  forms 
are  remodelled.  In  a  the  cock  is  clearly  to  be  recognized  as  a  bird  ;  its  beak, 
however,  assumes  the  form  of  a  fish-tail.  On  the  left,  to  its  trisulcate  wing-feather 
a  conventionalized  bipartite  fish  is  attached.  Its  body  is,  of  course,  conceived 
of  as  a  fish,  and  ends  above  in  a  fish-tail.  In  b  we  see  a  figure  to  be  defined 
neither  as  cock  nor  as  fish,  but  to  be  designated  only  as  cock-fish.  The  body 
has  the  outer  form  of  a  cock's  body  and  a  fish  incised  on  it.  To  the  right,  in  the 
interior  of  the  spiral,  a  fish-head  is  appended,  whereas  to  its  narrow  neck  two 
conventionalized  fishes  are  annexed.  Between  a  and  b  we  see  a  spiral  to  which 


36  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

a  fish-body  is  clinging,  with  a  head  at  each  end.  c  is  a  variation  of  the  type 
seen  in  a.  d  is  a  cock  without  tail-feathers,  c  is  allied  to  /;,  but  adorned  with 
leaf  motives.  Also  f  is  a  cock-formation  composed  of  fishes.  In  g,  //,  and  ?', 
fishes  and  cocks  are,  as  it  were,  like  arabesques,  amalgamated  into  one  composite 
whole,  the  separate  parts  of  which  arc  hard  to  single  out,  since  one  always  glides 
into  the  other,  j  anil  /•  show  the  principle  of  the  cocks  of  Type  B.  In/ the 
backs  of  the  cocks,  strange  to  say,  are  replaced  by  two  conventionalized  bipartite 
fishes  rampant.  The  acme  of  all  these  phenomena  of  cock  and  fish  is  reached, 
however,  in  g.  Here  we  observe  in  the  middle  a  large  realistic  carp,  on  the  tail 
of  which  is  drawn  again  a  fish.  At  three  points  this  carp  is  ornamented  with 
bird-beaks  and  the  usual  ovals  ;  so  that  this  design,  when  viewed  from  three 
different  sides,  has  the  appearance  of  as  many  cocks. 


F'gs-  I3~l  7  are  likewise  large  compositions  based  on  the  principle  of  the 
combination  of  conventionalized,  mostly  bipartite,  fishes  with  spiral  and  cock 
ornaments.  In  these  conglomerations  are  shown  the  endless  variation  of  which 
this  ornament  is  capable,  and  the  great  effectiveness  of  the  forms  in  the  compo 
sition  of  larger  structures.  In  Fig.  16,  moreover,  a  lavish  use  is  made  of  leaf  and 
floral  ornaments.  In  special  beauty  of  forms  the  large  realistic  cock  on  the  left 
side  of  Fig.  17  excels. 

THE  DRAGON.  —  The  Chinese  dragon  (lung;  Gold,  mudur)  holds  a  promi 
nent  place  in  the  mythology  of  the  Gold,  and  is  believed  by  both  these  peoples  to 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


37 


produce  rain  and   thunder.     This  monster  is  very  popular  throughout  eastern 
Asia,  and  is  a  favorite  subject  in  ornamentation.1 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xn,  is  a  decoration  cut  out  of  paper,  in  which  the  picture  of 
the  dragon  is  repeated  four  times.  It  is  laid  out  in  the  form  of  a  double  spiral, 
the  starting-point  of  which  is,  on  the  one  side  its  head,  on  the  other  side  its  tail. 
To  the  single  spirals  are  now  added  offshoots  representing  the  legs  of  the 
monster,  so  that  one  might  distinguish  the  form  of  the  dragon  as  well  as  the 
combination  of  two  triskeles.  The  curved  lines  outlining  the  dragon's  body  run 
parallel  to  each  other, 
and  are  covered  with  a 
row  of  small  triangles 
indicating  scales.  The 
upper  part  of  the  head 
has  almost  a  helmet- 
like  shape,  its  mouth 
being  strongly  promi 
nent,  and  its  tongue; 
quivering.  On  the  face 
of  the  dragon  («)  there 
is  a  very  remarkable 
design  :  in  the  three 
objects,  eye,  semicircle, 
body,  is  reproduced 
the  image  of  the  con 
ventionalized  fish  as  it 
usually  appears  on  the 
naturalistic  fish -body 
or  the  cock.  The  con 
ventionalized  fish  oc 
curs  once  again  under  the  head,  where  it  is  formed  by  the  outline  of  the  latter 
and  an  added  triskeles,  representing  in  this  case  the  whiskers  of  that  mythical 
creature.-.  The  horns  on  its  head  are  so  shaped  as  to  remind  one  of  the  cock's 
tail-feathers.  The  one  four-broached  portion  of  the  horns  is  also  identical  with 
the  design  of  the  dragon's  tail  on  other  pictures.  On  its  neck  are  three  claws, 
representing  its  wings  or  flag-feathers.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  four  fields  at 
the  ends  of  the  dragon-tails  are  filled  with  cocks  (6),  each  holding  a  fish  in  its 
beak,  and  having  their  bodies  formed  like  fishes,  the  symbolical  design  of  the 
conventionalized  fish  being  cut  out  of  them.  This  is  placed  also  around  the 
spiral  wing-feathers  in  the:  characteristic  manner.  The  tail  belongs  rather  te> 
the  dragon  than  to  the  bird,  for  it  consists,  which  is  unusual  for  a  cock's  tail,  of 
two  bisected  parts,  each  made:  up  e>f  two  offshoots.  The  picture  marked  c  may 
be  interpreted  as  shewing  certain  stages  in  the  development  e)f  the:  cock-fish 
ornament. 

1  The  dragon  of  purely  Chinese  type  has  already  been  referred  to  on  p.  4. 


Tribe,  Cold.     Alwu 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 


Fig.  5,  Plate  xn,  is  another  paper  pattern  representing  dragons,  likewise  in 
the  form  of  double  spirals,  but  in  much  simpler  form  than  in  the  preceding  case. 
The  head  (a)  is  extended,  and  has  only  one  horn  of  the  shape  of  the  familiar  con 
ventionalized  bipartite  fish.  The  mouth  projects  and  is  wide  open.  An  oval 
figure  is  put  under  its  lower  jaw,  significant  of  a  bright  pearl.1  The  serpentine 
body  is  covered,  not  with  scales,  but  with  an  ornamental  spur-line.  The  tail  (3)  is 
a  bushy  tuft  with  four  branches,  one  of  which  corresponds  to  the  form  of  a  con 
ventionalized  fish.  Feet  and  claws  are  not  indicated. 

Fig.  6,  Plate  xn,  shows  a  painting  on  the  upper  edge  of  a  pair  of  leggings, 
colored  in  red  and  black.  In  this  case  two  dragons  are  placed  side  by  side,  the 


3n  of  Paper  Patter 

faces  turned  away  from  each  other.  These  are  strongly  conventionalized,  indicat 
ing  in  reality  only  the  open  jaws,  the  scales  marked  as  in  the  foregoing  example. 
The  tops  of  the  heads  are  connected  by  a  brace.  Both  above  and  below  the  body 
is  a  foot  with  claw.  The  tail  consists  of  a  circle  and  adjoining  triskeles-shaped 
fish-tail. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xm,  represents  half  of  the  decoration  on  the  cover  of  a 
lacquered  tobacco-box,  the  edge  of  which  is  adorned  with  a  conventionalized 
design  of  eight  dragons  in  the  form  of  spirals.  These  are  paired  so  that  their 
faces,  which  consist  of  bifid  ovals,  are  turned  away  from  each  other.  The  horns 
are  fashioned  after  the  cock's  tail-feathers.  The  heads  of  the  dragons  on  the  long 

1  See  Grunwedel  in  Sitzungsberichte  der  preussischen  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften  in  Berlin,  1901,  p.  215. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 


39 


side  are  connected  by  a  brace.  Six  dentiform  projections  stand  out  from  the 
back.  The  body  terminates  in  a  fish-tail,  the  shorter  arm  of  which  signifies 
a  foot  with  four  sharp  claws,  the  other  being  supplied  with  a  bushy  tail  resem- 


bling  cock-feathers.  In  the  centre  of  the  middle  field  is  a  rosette,  the  elements  of 
which  are  made  up  of  conventional  designs  of  fishes.  Above  follow  two  cock- 
fishes,  each  in  a  spiral.  Connected  with  the  central  rosette  by  a  narrow  band  is 
an  elliptical  figure  with  an  ornamental  ring  inside,  between  which  and  the 
periphery  of  the  ellipse  are  delineated  triskeles  and  conventionalized  cocks. 
Beyond  this  figure  are  two  opposite  dragon-heads. 

Fig.  1 8  is  also  a  deco 
ration  on  the  cover  of  a 
lacquered  tobacco-box,  but 
here  the  main  field  is  taken 
up  by  eight  large  finely- 
drawn  dragons.  This  type 
approaches  in  its  form 
very  nearly  that  of  the 
cock-ornament.  On  each 
side  of  the  cover  the  two 
dragons  above  and  below 
are  placed  in  the  form  of  a  F'G- l8  («™)-  Covcr  of  a  Tobacco-box.  Tribe,  GM.  Extreme  length,  5,  cm. 

double  spiral,  tails  contiguous,  faces  turned  so  that  they  look  at  each  other.  At  the 
end  of  both  the  upper  and  the  lower  jaw  is  a  triskeles,  apparently  signifying  cocks, 


40  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 

as  the  upper  ones  have  ovals  connected  with  them.  Likewise  the  horns  on  one 
side  are  characterized  by  a  triskeles  in  the  form  of  a  fish-tail.  The  two  central 
dragons  are  connected  by  two  combatant  carp.  The  dragon-tails  are  wholly 
fashioned  after  the  form  of  the  cock-tails.  These  may  be  designated  either  as 
dragons  or  as  cocks  with  dragon-bodies,  so  that  one  may  speak  of  cock-clragons  as 
well  as  of  dragon-cocks. 

On  Fig.  i,  Plate  xin,  a  dragon  in  front  view  is  sprawled  over  the  cover  of 
a  Goldian  tobacco-box,  the  greater  part  of  which  it  occupies,  in  fanciful  connec 
tion  with  a  chain-band  pattern.  The  head  looks  similar  to  that  of  an  elephant. 
In  the  mouth  are  designed  a  pointed  tongue  and  two  pairs  of  front  teeth.  In 
general  the  ornamental  treatment  recedes  as  much  as  possible  into  the  back 
ground,  that  the  animal  character  may  receive  more  emphasis.  Ingenuity  is 
given  free  scope,  in  this  case,  by  the  introduction  of  the  perfect  representations 
of  the  four  feet  stretched  out  to  both  sides,  each  with  four  claws.1  The  bobtail 
also  is  not  a  decorative  part,  but  consists  simply  of  seven  natural-looking  furca 
tions.  Between  the  two  hindmost  claws  on  each  foot  is  inserted  an  oblong  object 
which  they  seem  to  hold.  The  band-ornament  along  the  edge  of  the  cover  is  so 
placed  around  the  monster  as  to  suggest  that  the  animal  might  be  bound  with 
ropes.  The  bands  start  from  the  ends  of  the  upper  and  under  jaw,  and  are 
twisted  into  three  loops  above  and  three  below,  which  show  two,  and  in  one  case 
four,  prominent  tips.  Several  S-shaped  figures,  which  also  presumably  represent 
portions  of  the  band,  are  inserted  between  the  single  knots. 

This  monster,  conveying  the  impression  rather  of  an  enormous  python,  is 
very  likely  the  embodiment  of  the  rain-dragon  soaring  in  the  clouds,  but  hampered 
by  its  fetters  in  pouring  out  its  blessings  on  the  thirsty  land.  In  this  connection 
mention  should  be  made  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  "  cloud-and-rain  pat 
terns,"  simple  illustrations  of  which  are  given  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  xm,  and  in 
Fig.  i,  Plate  xiv.  The  former  is  a  cloud  pattern  composed  of  spirals  with  cocks 
resting  on  them,  and  of  clusters  formed  by  a  central  spiral  with  six  scrolls 
around  it.  The  latter  is  the  device  on  a  Japanese  weaving  belonging  to  the 
period  between  the  eighteenth  and  the  nineteenth  centuries.  It  is  constructed 
of  a  combination  of  semicircles  and  spirals,  and  adds  another  to  the  already 
wide  range  of  objects  for  which  the  spiral  is  a  symbol,  as,  in  this  case,  for  cloud- 
formation. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xm,  an  old  Chinese  weaving-pattern,  gives  a  somewhat  more 
graphic  account  of  Chinese  notions  of  atmospheric  phenomena.  The  upper 
and  lower  edges  are  taken  up  with  two  variations  of  the  meander,  while  the  inter 
vening  part  is  occupied  with  an  evidently  emblematic  effigy.  This  special  repre 
sentation  is  designated  in  Chinese  art  as  a  "  cloud-and-thunder  picture."  It 
reproduces  a  dragon,  which,  as  Hirth~  sets  forth,  in  its  aerial  abode  starts  the 
thunder  a-rolling  with  its  hind-paw  upraised  and  stretched  backward.  The 

1   Five-clawed  feet  are  only  accorded  to  the  Imperial  dragon. 

s  See  Hirth,  Verhandlungen  der  Berliner  Anthropologischen  Gesellschaft,  i88q,  p.  493. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


thunder  is  symbolically  characterized  by  a  triskeles,  one  arm  of  which  is  enclosed  in 
a  semicircle.  Below  it  the  lightning  is  represented  by  a  trident.  The  meandrian 
patterns  are  also  a  symbolical  equivalent  for  thunder,  so  that  this  whole  repre 
sentation  might  be  called  the  best  illustration  of  the  deductions  of  Hirth  in  the 
paper  quoted  before. 

THE  MUSK-DEER.  —  Foremost  among  the  animals  which  play  an  important 
part  in  the  productions  of  this  art,  after  the  cock  and  the  dragon,  is  the  musk-deer  ; 
at  least  the  creature  portrayed  in  the  following  examples  is  explained  by  the  natives 
as  such.  It  is  rather  naturalistic  on  some  of  the  larger  zoophoric  compositions  ; 
but,  under  the  pressure  of  the  leading  gallinaceous  motive,  it  undergoes  such 
conventional  transformations,  especially  in  its  double  character,  that  the  dif 
ference  between  the  construction  of  its  forms  and  those  of  the  cock  is  hardly 
perceptible. 

In  Fig.  2,  Plate  xiv,  not  only  has  the  deer  retained  the  form  of  head  of 
the  cock,  but  it  has  also  been  invested  with  its  beak  grasping  the  fish.  The 
head  is  adorned  with 
antlers  which  are 
made  up  of  two  tris 
keles  joined  by  a 
heavy  dot.  On  the 
body,  and  parallel 
with  its  outline,  are 
cut  out  two  conven 
tionalized  fishes  side 
by  side.  The  two 
hind-legs  are  formed 
in  the  same  way  as 
the  tail,  consisting  of 

two  slightly  undulating  curves.  The  two  animals  are  rampant,  their  fore-legs 
united  in  a  straight  bar. 

Fig.  3,  Plate  xiv,  represents  a  paper  pattern  for  embroidering  a  pair  of  ear- 
lappets.  The  two  figures  (a)  on  both  sides  are  combatant  musk-deer  of  more 
conventionalized  form  than  the  preceding  ones ;  only  their  heads,  with  ears 
upright  and  mouths  open,  have  a  somewhat  natural  appearance.  Their  bodies 
are  shaped  like  the  fish  whose  form  is  cut  out  of  them.  Two  large  dots 
serve  to  express  the  feet.  The  tails  consist  of  one  falcation  and  a  combination 
of  two  triskeles  with  an  oval  knob.  The  lines  b  are  wave-lines  ending  below  in  a 
form  reminding  one  of  the  cock's  tail-feathers.  The  ornamental  figures  c  and  d 
signify  the  last  stage  of  development  of  the  cocks  of  Type  A,  that  is,  of  the 
combatant  cocks,  d  showing  two  combatant  fishes  in  lieu  of  cocks'  bodies.  The 
oblong  crenations  (e)  around  the  edge  are  apparently  derived  from  the  constitu 
ents  of  the  cock's  wing-feathers. 

On  the  side  of  a  birch-bark  basket  (Fig.   19),  are  delineated  two  combatant 


42  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

musk-deer  in  crouching  attitude,  and  invested  with  cocks'  crests.  The  feet  unite 
below  in  a  trefoil.  On  their  bodies  are  fishes,  gracefully  outlined.  Each  deer 
runs  out  into  a  fish-body,  the  forked  tail  of  which  is  visible,  and  to  which  a 
collateral  fin  is  attached.  The  style  of  execution  of  these  fishes  is  such,  that 
the  space  between  them  and  the  body  of  the  musk-deer  remains  the  usual  con 
ventional  form  of  the  fish. 

ANIMAL  PIECKS.  —  Of  other  animals  which  occur  in  the  ornamentation  of 
these  tribes,  aside  from  those  hitherto  noted,  the  following  deserve  mention  :  wild 
duck,  wild  goose,  swan,  eagle,  swallow,  elk,  reindeer,  roe,  fox,  dog,  crucian,  lizard, 
frog,  snake,  and  insects.  The  following  animal  pieces  demonstrate  the  supreme 
degree  of  zoophily  innate  in  the  minds  of  these  people,  who  display  such  a 
wonderful  amount  of  creative  power  in  these  productions  so  full  of  freak  and 
fancy. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xiv,  shows  a  pattern  cut  out  of  paper,  which  is  divided  by 
winding  curves  into  ornamental  fields.  The  birds  marked  a  were  explained  as 
wild  clucks.  In  form  they  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  cock.  The  bird 
seems  to  be  conceived  of  by  the  artist  as  swimming.  On  its  head  is  a  horn 
like  piece,  formed  on  the  one  side  by  a  conventionalized  fish,  on  the  other  by  two 
parallel  pikes.  A  conventionalized  fish,  consisting  of  two  separate  parts,  is  cut 
into  the  body  as  in  the  cock.  The  wing-feather  is  a  scroll ;  the  tail,  of  the 
conventional  fish-form.  The  figures  b  are  two  circle-ornaments  to  which  are  at 
tached,  above  and  below,  birds'  heads. 

In  the  paper  pattern,  Fig.  5,  Plate  xiv,  we  see  a  very  remarkable,  graceful 
combination  of  various  animals.  In  the  centre,  four  musk-deer  (a)  are  grouped 
around  a  lozenge-shaped  figure.  The  head  is  formed  in  exactly  the  same  style  as 
that  in  Fig.  3  of  this  plate.  The  body  looks  very  odd,  because  it  is  moulded  like 
that  of  a  fish,  to  the  head  of  which  cock-spurs  are  added  to  indicate  the  feet  of  the 
deer.  In  the  heart-shaped  fields  above  and  below  are  two  frogs  (V)  with  four 
outstretched  legs  formed  like  fishes,  and  with  two  fishes  indicated  on  their  bodies. 
At  the  extreme  ends  are  four  crucians  (<$),  covered  with  triangular  scales.  Between 
these  and  the  musk-deer  are  placed  four  pairs  of  wild  swans,  each  pair  having  one 
body  in  common,  but  distinct  necks  and  heads,  —  one  naturalistic  head  turned 
inward,  whose  gracefully  arched  neck  rests  on  a  wave-line,  giving  at  the  same 
time  the  outline  for  the  bird's  body ;  the  other  head,  turned  outward,  being 
ornamentally  conventionalized. 

Fig.  6,  Plate  xiv,  represents  a  paper  pattern  showing  a  design  for  embroi 
dering  a  shirt.  In  the  centre  is  a  circle,  around  which  are  grouped  four  tortoises 
(a),  strongly  conventionalized.  Around  it,  on  both  sides,  two  bands  forming 
four  circles  and  two  ellipses  are  symmetrically  arranged.  In  every  circle  there 
is  a  roe  (Cervus  capreolus  L.),  b  ;  two  snakes  (muiki),  d ;  and  a  bird  (c],  called 
tewerko,  the  species  of  which  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  determine.  Each 
ellipse  contains  a  frog  (Rana  temporaria  L.),  e ;  two  spiders  (atkomama),  f; 
and  two  gadflies  (shigaxfd),  g.  Outside  of  these  figures  a  number  of  animals  are 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XIII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 


43 


represented  standing  along  the  edges  of  the  pattern.  There  are  four  mosquitoes, 
k  ;  four  chimney-swallows  (fftrundo  rnstica  L.),  i  ,•  four  snakes,  d;  four  stags 
(Cervns  elaphus  L.),  j ;  and  four  fawns  (Ccrvus  capreolus  L.),  k. 


FIG.  jo  (,',",).     Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold,     j  na 


In  the  paper  pattern  shown  in  Fig.  20  the  same  picture  is  represented  eight 
times.      In  it  the  following  animals  are  represented  :  a  jumping  tiger  (a)  with  open 


44  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

jaws,  the  fore-legs  with  paws  outstretched,  with  only  one  hind-leg,  and  tail 
upturned  ;  an  eagle  grasping  a  fish  in  its  beak  (<f),  this  conception  being  very 
likely  derived  from  the  cock  holding  the  same  little  creature  in  its  beak  ;  a  flying 
wild  duck  (V)  ;  a  musk-deer  with  a  design  of  a  conventionalized  bipartite  fish  on 
its  body  (d}  ;  a  fox  lying  in  ambush  (e)  ;  frogs  (/^and^)  ;  a  horse  and  its  rider 
(/<;)  ;  an  eagle  flapping  its  wing  and  having  a  foot  with  three  outstretched  claws 
(z')  ;  what  is  said  to  be  a  glutton  (/£). 

Fig.  21  represents  nearly  one-fourth  part  of  a  paper  pattern  that  is  divided 
again  into  two  symmetrical  parts.  The  ornaments  are  distributed  over  four 
large  and  twenty-six  small  quadrangular  and  ten  triangular  fields.  In  the  large 
rectangle  to  the  left  are  united  four  strongly  conventionalized  dragons,  whose 
heads  merge  into  the  geometrical  figure  a,  and  whose  tails  are  distinctly  marked 
in  the  palmate  figure  b.  The  body  itself  is  not  drawn,  but  merely  symbolized  by 
spiral  windings. 

On  the  small  squares  surrounding  the  large  figure  just  described,  a  number  of 
animals  are  shown.  The  three  small  squares  designated  as  c  contain  representa 
tions  of  spiders  formed  in  a  way  similar  to  that  of  the  dragon's  tail.  I  n  one  of  them 
are  drawn  the  outlines  of  three  conventionalized  fishes,  d  represents  a  raccoon- 
like  dog  (Cam's  procyonoidcs  or  viverrinus)  with  five  cross-stripes  ;  e  is  a  young 
musk-deer  ;  f,  a  frog ;  and  g  is  a  wild  duck  in  the  act  of  flying,  the  wing 
being  marked  by  a  trapezoid  containing  an  inscribed  smaller  trapezoid  ;  h  is  a  roe 
with  neck  turned  backward  ;  z,  a  cock  with  outspread  wing  and  erect  tail-feath 
ers  ;  j  is  a  wild  reindeer  ;  k  is  identical  with  d ;  I  is  a  wolf  ;  and  m  represents  a 
wild  goose. 

Proceeding  to  the  triangles  at  the  bottom  of  the  design,  we  find  a  doe  looking 
backward  {«)  ;  to  the  left  of  it  a  conventionalized  deer  with  recurved  cock-neck ; 
o  is  a  lizard. 

The  large  squares  on  the  right  are  divided  by  bands  into  a  number  of  fields, 
which  are  also  filled  with  animal  figures.  In  the  lower  square  we  find  to  the  left 
an  elk  (/>),  above  which  are  three  quadrupeds,  one  of  them  a  stag ;  q  is  a  double 
eagle  with  body  in  common  and  outspread  wings  ;  r  is  a  wild  duck  ;  5  is  a 
panther;  and  t,  a  jumping  tiger.  In  the  second  square  are  seen  roes  (u)  with 
rebent  necks ;  v,  a  duck  ;  w,  a  swallow  ;  x,  a  frog  ;  y,  a  flying  wild  duck  (cf.  g]  ; 
2,  a  galloping  hound. 

Fig.  22  is  a  pattern  for  a  blanket,  cut  out  of  paper.  There  is  a  central 
piece  with  an  upper  and  lower  edge.  The  main  ground  is  taken  up  with  two 
dragons  wound  in  the  form  of  spirals,  the  heads  (a)  of  which  lie  in  the  termini  of 
these  spirals.  The  space  inside  of  the  dragon-spirals  is  occupied  by  represen 
tations  of  animals,  which  correspond  to  each  other  on  both  sides.  As  a  sort  of 
decorative  csesura,  a  large  frog  (<$)  and  a  smaller  adjoining  one  are  inserted. 
The  intervening  spaces  between  the  dragons  above  and  those  below  are  filled  up 
with  four  tortoises  (V).  Close  against  the  dragon's  head  a  fox  is  leaning,  followed 
by  a  wild  duck  (d}  on  the  other  side  of  the  head.  In  e  is  represented  a  branch 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XIV. 


mtom 


Decorative  Art.  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 


45 


consisting  of  three  parts,  with  leaves  and  blossoms,  f  is  a  musk-deer ;  g,  a  stag  ; 
//,  the  cock  running  out  into  a  fish-body  ;  i,  a  conventionalized  bird  ;  j,  a  roe. 
Outside  of  the  dragons  we  observe  a  conventionalized  tree  with  roots  (three 


^U  ggiigg  83 

? 


;•»  ran  p 

taiL^a 


^T< 

•aM«f 


FIG.  2!  Iff,.)    Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold.     I  nat.  size. 


semicircles  in  succession),  trunk,  boughs,  and  foliage,  by  which  is  indicated 
symbolically  the  primeval  forest,  the  so-called  taiga,  where  the  whole,  animal 
kingdom  nests,  k  denotes  a  swan  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  with  a 


46  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 

cross  on  its  body1  (the  ellipse  forming  the  body  is  repeated  to  furnish  the 
connection  with  the  dragon)  ;  above  it  is  the  design  of  a  squirrel  (/).  m  is  a 
duck  with  a  fish  in  its  bill  ;  n,  a  lizard  ;  o,  an  elk  ;  /,  a  musk-deer ;  q,  a  cock  ;  r, 
a  duck  perching  on  the  side-branch  of  a  tree,  as  on  the  fish-skin  garments ;  s,  a 
lizard  ;  t,  a  carp  ;  u,  a  swan  with  open,  upturned  beak  ;  v,  a  roe.  The  edge  is 
cut  by  means  of  jagged  lines  into  rectangles,  and  each  of  these  again  into  four 
triangles.  In  the  first  triangle  at  the  extreme  left  is  an  eagle  with  outspread 


pinions,  almost  in  the  fashion  of  our  escutcheon  eagle.  In  the  opposite  triangle 
there  is  a  lizard,  and  below  it  a  snake.  In  the  two  central  triangles  are  two 
eagles  and  two  roosters  standing  opposite  each  other. 

LEAF  AND  FLORAL  ORNAMENTS.  —  Not  only  does  the  delineator  manifest  his 
artistic  spirit  as  a  skilful  faunist,  but,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  flora  also  occupies 
his  attention.  Leaves  and  floral  forms  occur  partly  as  independent  ornaments 
in  connection  with  other  elements,  partly  in  close  combination  with  the  cock  and 
fish  ornaments.  Especially  single  portions  connected  with  the  latter  are  treated 


See  Globus,  Vol.   LXXIX,  1901,  p.  70,  and  cf.  Figs.  3  and  14. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nnt.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XV. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES.  47 

as  leaves,  chiefly  the  heads  of  conventionalized  fishes,  and  the  round  object  held 
in  the  beak  of  the  cock. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xv,  represents  a  carved  Goldian  wooden  dish.  In  the  middle, 
around  a  large  circle,  are  grouped  four  smaller  ones  showing  peculiar  forms  of 
svastika.  Two  opposite  fields  inside  of  these  have  coarse  cross-hatchings,  two 
others  fine  ones.  The  same  kind  of  hatching  occurs  in  the  central  circle,  which 
shows  the  heads  of  four  realistic  does  holding  in  their  mouths  a  young  fawn. 
One  of  the  large  animals  has  seized  it  by  the  head,  a  second  by  the  tail,  a  third  by 
the  fore-leg,  and  the  fourth  by  a  hind-leg.  The  deer  are  so  drawn  that  their 
outlines  form  likewise  a  svastika.  The  rim  of  this  dish  is  covered  on  the  sides 
with  clinging  vines,  leaves,  and  blossoms  of  various  kinds  and  forms,  and,  on  the 
ends,  with  flower-spikes.  To  the  four  corners  at  the  extreme  ends  are  attached 
four  animal  heads  in  open-work  carving.  It  is  hard  to  say  what  species  of  animal 
is  meant. 

In  Fig.  2,  Plate  xv,  is  seen  the  cover  of  a  wooden  box.  This  composition 
is  remarkable  for  the  reason  that  the  middle  piece  of  the  ornament  is  not  shaped 
symmetrically,  the  only  symmetry  visible  being  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
ornaments  across  the  upper  and  lower  ends.  Below  we  see  a  three-lobed  leaf. 
Two  leaves  of  the  same  kind,  though  not  of  the  same  rigid  geometrical  form,  are 
found  in  the  central  part.  The  whole  is  intended,  perhaps,  to  signify  the  bough 
of  a  tree,  whence  perhaps  also  arises  the  irregular  arrangement  of  the  single 
parts. 

The  next  design  shown  on  Plate  xv  (Fig.  3)  is  that  of  an  embroidered 
tobacco-pouch,  the  edge  of  which  is  trimmed  with  sable.  The  stitches  employed 
on  the  edge  are  a  triple  row  composed  of  feather-stitch  in  the  centre  with  chain- 
stitch  either  side  of  it.  In  the  middle  field  chain-stitches  are  mostly  used, 
the  leaf  parts  being  worked  in  satin-stitch.  In  the  right  and  left  upper  corners 
of  the  central  rectangle  we  observe  two  three-lobed  leaves,  under  which  are  two 
cocks  holding  triskeles-shaped  fishes.  There  is  a  red  leaf  near  the  fish  and 
a  light-green  leaf  on  the  cock's  body,  both  seeming  to  represent  the  well-known 
round  object.  From  these  cocks  branch  off  toward  the  middle  two  double  spirals. 
The  smaller,  outer  spiral  has  its  starting-point  in  a  large  two-lobed  leaf  held  in  the 
beak  of  the  cock  ;  the  other,  inner  spiral,  from  a  petal  with  three  lobes  grouped, 
rosette-like,  around  a  circle.  Within  this  spiral  is  delineated  a  conventionalized 
fish,  whose  body  is  assimilated  to  the  winding  of  the  spiral,  and  whose  tail  tapers 
to  a  point.  The  heads  of  these  fishes  are  worked  in  satin-stitch,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  leaves,  with  dark  red.  On  the  lower  edge  of  the  rectangle  are 
placed  blossoms  consisting  of  five  petals  in  pyramidal  arrangement. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xv,  represents  an  embroidered  border.  In  the  lower  part,  on 
a  black  ground,  we  see  leaf-forms  in  connection  with  triskeles,  and  in  the  centre 
two  rosette-like  blossoms  at  the  starting-points  of  two  spirals.  In  the  upper  por 
tion,  with  red  background,  all  fish-heads  and  circular  forms  are  treated  as  leaves, 
their  surface  being  filled  in  with  satin-stitches,  while  the  remaining  parts  are 


48  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

merely  represented  by  lines  of  white  chain-stitching.  This  process  is  therefore 
at  the  same  time  a  device  by  which  to  make  out  easily  the  somewhat  obscure 
cocks  and  the  fishes. 

The  embroidered  waistband,  Fig.  5,  Plate  xv,  consists  of  a  rectangular 
central  field  and  an  ornamental  border.  In  the  central  field  a  very  interesting 
geometrical  formation  of  the  cock  is  met  with,  combined  with  single  small  curves 
and  triskeles.  In  the  illustration  the  outlines  of  this  cock  have  been  strength 
ened  to  show  more  clearly  the  type  of  this  bird.  The  border  is  composed  of 
a  succession  of  continuous  double  spirals  connected  with  two  and  three  lobed 
flowers.  At  the  same  time  the  spirals  symbolize  cocks'  bodies. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xvi,  represents  the  upper  front  border  of  the  half  of  a  collar 
of  a  woman's  embroidered  dress.  The  ornament  shows  clearly  the  way  in  which 
leaves  and  blossoms  appear  in  connection  with  spirals.  One  of  the  arms  of  the 
triskeles  attached  to  the  spirals  is  treated  like  a  leaf. 

Fig.  6,  Plate  xv,  shows  a  paper  pattern  presenting  a  purely  geometrical 
formation  of  flowers  or  blossoms,  the  single  parts  of  which  are  circles,  semicircles, 
and  ovals.1 

There  is  a  certain  power  of  attraction  between  cock  and  plant  ornaments, 
leading  sometimes  to  a  perfect  amalgamation,  which  may  be  illustrated  in  the 
following  specimens. 

In  Figs.  12-14,  Plate  xvi,  are  reproduced  paintings  on  three  Goldian  bows. 
Fig.  12  shows  a  combination  of  a  tendril-like  ornament  with  a  cock-ornament. 
The  outer  side  of  the  bow  (Fig.  12  a)  is  divided  into  ten  fields  ;  but  the  five  fields 
on  the  one  side  do  not  symmetrically  correspond  to  the  five  on  the  other  side,  in 
which  the  same  ornamental  parts  appear  in  different  combinations.  In  this 
pattern  the  motives  of  the  cock  and  of  the  fish  ornament  are  so  strangely  mixed 
up  with  leaf  and  floral  designs,  and  the  two  are  so  closely  assimilated  to  each 
other,  that  it  is  sometimes  hard  to  decide  what  is  an  ingredient  of  the  cock  and 
what  of  the  plant  ornament.  In  the  centre  of  the  field  a  (Pig.  i  2  a)  there  is  an 
obvious  representation  of  the  cock,  with  head,  body,  and  spur,  holding  a  conven 
tionalized  fish  in  its  beak,  to  which  is  attached,  on  the  right,  a  petal.  It  would  be 
difficult,  however,  to  determine  whether  the  first  design  on  the  left  is  meant  to 
represent  a  leaf  or  a  fish.  In  the  field  b  we  observe  likewise  a  cirrose  leaf,  in  the 
middle  a  conventionalized  fish  of  the  characteristic  form,  whereas  all  plant  portions 
are  adapted  to  this  style  of  the  fish,  both  here  and  in  the  central  field  c.  In  rt'we 
see  another  cock  with  a  fish  in  its  beak.  Its  tail-feathers,  which  in  design  are 
like  a  fish-tail,  form  at  the  same  time  the  component  of  a  petal.  In  a  similar  way, 
in  field  e  is  a  cock  with  a  fish,  on  a  stalk  proceeding  from  a  five-lobed  leaf.  This 
ornament  terminates  at  the  other  end  in  a  trifoliate  leaf. 

On  the  inner  side  of  this  bow  (Fig.  isb,  Plate  xvi)  the  ornament  on  the 
left-hand  side  begins  with  a  leaf-tendril,  which  is  continued  to  the  end  by  a  long 
undulating  line.  It  may  be  that  in  this  wave-ornament  the  curve  itself  is  con- 

1  Cf.  what  is  said  about  the  circle-ornament,  p.  19. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus   Nat.  Hist..  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XVI. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist..  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XVII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  TIIK    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR    TRIBES.  49 

ceived  of  as  something  real,  as  it  is  entirely  filled  with  conventionalized  fishes,  or, 
if  one  prefers,  with  leaves  which  have  adopted  their  forms.  These  patterns  coin 
cide  to  such  a  degree,  that,  in  the  two  designs  terminating  this  ornament  on  the 
right  side,  it  might  appear  doubtful  whether  they  are  to  be  looked  upon  as  cocks, 
fishes,  or  leaves:  they  combine  in  their  forms  all  three  meanings. 

The  outer  side  of  the  specimen  represented  in  Fig.  13,  Plate  xvi,  is  divided, 
for  the  purpose  of  decoration,  into  two  fields,  each  of  which  contains  the  painting 
of  a  scaled  dragon.  The  parts  of  its  horns  have  the  form  of  conventionalized 
fishes  (Fig.  132).  On  the  body,  below,  is  visible  a  foot  with  scales  like  those  on 
the  body.  To  its  body  are  attached,  besides,  three  cock-spurs,  which  would  here 
seem  to  indicate  feet.  The  tail  is  coiled  around  into  a  spiral,  as  in  the  cock,  and 
connected  with  it  is  a  stem  bearing  six  leaves.  The  inner  side  of  the  bow  is 
divided  into  two  unequal  parts  (Fig.  13  b).  The  element  in  the  left  field  is  a  wave- 
line.  Inside  of  each  curve  of  the  line,  both  above  and  below,  is  a  cock-spur,  which, 
in  this  connection,  is  meant  to  represent  a  leaf.  This  is  one  of  the  remarkable 
instances  where  the  function  of  the  ornament  is  different  from  what  it  would 
appear  to  be.  In  the  field  on  the  right  side  are  represented  similar  figures,  but 
with  freer  arrangement.  Three  oval-shaped  leaves  are  added,  and  a  flower-bud 
with  two  petals  on  either  side  of  a  central  ovary.  This  ornament  is  completed 
on  the  right  by  the  representation  of  three  conventionalized  fishes. 

In  Fig.  14,  Plate  xvi,  is  reproduced  a  bow,  the  outer  side  of  which  is  sep 
arated  into  two  equal  parts  in  the  same  way  as  the  others.  The  fundamental 
motive  of  this  ornament  is  a  wave-line  from  which  extend  either  simple  curved 
branchlets  or  ornaments  in  the  form  of  triskeles.  Connected  with  one  of  these 
triskeles  we  see  a  conventionalized  fish  (Fig.  14  a,  a),  whereas  in  the  branchlets  b 
and  c  we  recognize  heads  of  cocks,  from  the  typical  figure  of  the  fish  connected 
with  it,  and  from  the  circle  drawn  in  the  fish.  The  head  of  the  cock  connected 
with  the  fish  is  easier  to  recognize  in  d ;  in  c  the  figure  of  the  circle  appears  at 
the  point  of  the  beak.  In  /"  a  new  combination  is  reached  through  the  addition 
of  a  semicircle  to  the  spiral,  which  forms  with  it  nearly  an  X.  g  and  It  show  the 
same  type  of  cock  with  the  fish,  only  inutile  wing-feathers  are  indicated  by  the 
addition  of  a  spiral.  The  fish  in  the  beak  has  in  both  cases  the  same  well-known 
form,  the  only  part  properly  indicated  being  the  bipartite  tail.  In  /  we  see  two 
triskeles  united  into  one  figure  ;  and  iny'a  new  style  of  conventionalization  of  the 
cock-ornament.  It  is  most  remarkable  that  the  artist  has  used  new  forms  at  each 
offshoot  of  this  wave-line,  and  exercised  his  imagination  to  a  great  extent  to 
obtain  new  and  varied  modifications  of  the  same  theme. 

Fig.  14 b,  Plate  xvi,  represents  the  decoration  on  the  inner  side  of  the  same 
bow.  In  this  case  also  there  is  no  symmetrical  treatment  inside  of  the  wave-line, 
but  the  maker  has  striven  to  vary  as  much  as  possible  the  motive  in  each  con 
cavity.  This  illustration  is  of  great  value  for  the  study  of  the  evolution  of  the 
cock-ornament,  for  it  shows  a  great  many  stages  in  its  development.  At  a 
we  observe  the  beak  of  the  cock  holding  a  round  object  and  at  the  same  time  the 


50  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

fish,  the  dimensions  of  whose  tail  are  exaggerated  in  comparison  with  the  other 
parts  of  the  ornament.  In  the  field  b  may  be  seen,  suspended  from  a  tendril,  two 
graceful  little  cocks  rampant,  under  the  beaks  of  which  is  a  circle.  Their  bodies 
approach  closely  the  fish-ornament.  At  first  sight  the  figure  c  might  seem  to  con 
vey  the  impression  of  a  leaf  or  flower  ornament  ;  but  the  horn-like  offshoot  on  the 
right  side  of  this  leaf  cannot  be  explained  in  this  case  :  it  is  obviously  to  be  regarded 
as  a  cock  holding  a  fish,  as  is  especially  shown  on  comparison  with  the  follow 
ing  ornament  ;  the  seeming  flower-bud  is  a  combination  of  fish-heads,  and  the 
circle  drawn  into  it  is  that  belonging  to  the  cock.  In  d  are  reproduced  two  com 
batant  cocks,  which,  however,  are  distinguished  from  those  in  b  by  being  joined 
together  and  placed  around  a  circle.  The  cock  to  the  right  has  its  tail  turned 
upward,  and  that  on  the  left  side  downward.  In  the  field  c  the  cock  may  be  recog 
nized  as  drawn  true  to  nature,  with  eye  indicated,  the  circle  at  its  beak.  Feet  and 
spurs  are  designated  by  a  long  lobe.  The  end  of  the  tail  terminates,  strange  to 
say,  with  the  body  of  a  fish,  /"shows  the  cock,  in  spite  of  its  conventionalization, 
clearly  outlined  :  the  circle  in  front  of  its  beak,  and  in  front  of  the  circle  the  fish, 
consisting  of  three  parts,  —  head,  body,  and  curved  tail.  Parallel  to  the  fish-tail 
run  the  cock's  feet,  which  are  indicated  by  a  long  falcation,  as  in  d.  The  tail- 
feathers  of  the  cock  are  conventionalized  like  the  fish-tail.  In  g,  head,  neck,  four 
tail-feathers,  and  two  concentric  circles  around  the  beak  of  the  bird,  are  visible.  // 
represents  a  cock  with  fish,  closely  allied  to  that  in  c,  the  cock  terminating  in  a  fish 
tail  disproportionately  large.  In  i  is  shown  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and 
instructive  designs  within  the  scope  of  this  entire  ornamentation  :  there  are  two 
triskeles  here,  in  one  of  which  one  arm  is  much  shortened  through  adaptation  to 
the  available  space  ;  that  these  pure  triskeles,  however,  are  interpreted  as  cocks, 
or  at  least  were  formerly  so  conceived,  results  from  the  fact  that  between  them 
are  two  circles,  as  usually  appear  with  combatant  cocks.  /  illustrates  a  type  of 
combatant  cocks  with  the  circle  between  their  beaks,  but,  for  the  rest,  soar 
ing  with  outspread  wings,  three  feathers  of  which  are  indicated,  k  presents  the 
two  cocks  again  in  the  form  of  pure  triskeles  in  a  way  similar  to  that  in  i ;  here, 
however,  only  one  circle  appears  between  them.  The  field  /  offers  a  design 
analogous  to  //,  except  that  in  the  former  the  fish-tail  is  turned  upward,  and 
to  the  cock  to  the  right  a  prong  indicating  feet  has  been  added.  The  form  m  is 
allied  to  those  in  /'  and  k,  only  that  here  three  circles  —  two  greater  ones  surround 
ing  a  lesser  middle  one  —  are  represented.  The  general  style  of  form  of  the  orna 
ment  in  n  is  nearly  identical  with  that  in  j,  but  with  some  slight  modifications, 
while  o  is  intermediate  between  the  designs  of  c  and  h. 

One  would  hardly  imagine  that  the  leaf-patterns  thus  far  treated  were  originally 
invented  by  the  Hast  Siberian  tribes.  The  purely  conventional  forms  in  which 
they  appear,  as  well  as  their  connection  with  other  ornamental  parts,  make  their 
derivation  from  Sino-Japanese  art  very  probable.  Primitive  tribes  generally  pay 
little  attention  to  the  vegetable  world  ;  and  the  Gilyak,  and  especially  the  Gold, 
reveal  a  surprising  degree  of  ignorance  concerning  the  plants  in  their  immediate 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


5' 


neighborhood,  not  to  mention  the  large  trees  the  wood  of  which  is  valuable 
to  them  as  timber.  As  soon  as  I  tried  to  gather  information  regarding  the  names 
of  plants,  I  was  directed  in  both  tribes  to  consult  the  women,  who  indeed  proved 
to  have  a  much  more  detailed  and  deeper  acquaintance  with  flowers  and  fruits 
than  the  men,  apparently  because  they  are  accustomed  to  collect  berries,  roots, 
and  certain  herbs  and  leaves,  as  food  for  the  household.  This  inefficient  knowl 
edge  of  the  flora  makes  it  difficult  to  realize  that  these  peoples  should  have  made 
an  independent  attempt  to  allot  a  space  to  plants  in  their  ornamentation  ;  and 
since  the  groundwork  on  which  all  its  other  parts  rest  is  borrowed  from  their 
teachers,  one  would  hardly  err  in  supposing  that  this  element  also  originated 


from  the  same  source.  Although  I  am  unable  at  this  time  to  present  exactly 
corresponding  patterns  from  the  realm  of  Chinese  art,  the  weaving-patterns 
on  Plates  \\\\,  \\iii,  and  in  Fig.  23,  point  out  sufficiently  well  that  leaf  and 
floral  ornaments  occur  in  China  and  Japan  in  combination  with  spirals  and 
triskeles,  no  less  than  on  the  Amur. 

The  Japanese  weaving-pattern  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xvn,  is  a  composition  of  maple- 
leaves  and  chrysanthemums.  The  most  remarkable  feature  here  is  the  association 
of  the  conventionalized  plants  with  the  mitsutontoye.  These  tomoye  seem  to  be 
devised  in  their  outlines  as  serrated  leaves.  They  are  surrounded  by  a  border 
showing  forms  of  single  and  compound  triskeles  in  exact  accord  with  formations 
on  our  ornaments.  A  close  connection,  consequently,  may  exist  between  the 
triskeles  and  the  tomoye.  A  selection  of  the  latter,  obtained  from  a  native 


52  l.AUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

Japanese  book,  is  presented  in  Figs.  2-9,   Plate  xvi  ;  and  in  Figs.  10  and  n   of 
that  plate  are  shown  arabesque  rings  derived  from  the  same  source. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xvn,  represents  clusters  of  leaves  as  well  as  of  triskeles,  both 
arranged  inside  of  circles.  The  foliage  reproduced  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xvm,  has 
developed  shapes  reminding  one  of  the  forms  of  our  cock-ornaments.  The  two 
confronting  creatures  in  its  centre  may  be  prototypes  of  our  musk-deer.  As  to 
Fig.  2,  Plate  xvm,  as  well  as  the  ornamentally  related  Fig.  23,  conventionalized 
cocks  seem  to  be  interwoven  with  vegetable  ingredients;  the  latter,  particularly, 
illustrate  stages  of  development  almost  identical  with  those  represented  on  the 
Golclian  bows  on  Plate  xvi. 

Up  to  this  point  in  our  investigations  we  have  treated  our  subject  from  an 
analytical  standpoint,  defining  the  different  elements  as  they  occur  in  ornamenta 
tion.  We  shall  now  take  into  consideration  its  synthetical  side,  and  show  how  the 
various  motives  are  employed  on  different  groups  of  ethnological  objects. 

BASKETS.  —  As  to  the  technical  methods  employed  in  the  designs  on  birch- 
bark  baskets,  the  following  occur:  i.  The  lines  are  incised  in  the  bark  material 
with  the  sharp  point  of  a  knife,  and  these  incisions  are  sometimes  partially  dyed 
(Plate  xix)  ;  2.  Patterns  are  cut  out  of  thick  bark  and  sewed  to  the  bark  of  the 
basket  with  a  few  short,  hardly  visible  stitches  ;  3.  Only  the  uppermost  layer  of 
the  bark  is  cut  out,  so  that  the  ornament  stands  out  in  relief  from  the  lower  bark 
layer  ;  in  this  case  the  raised  parts  are  usually  blackened  (Plates  xx,  xxi). 

The  ornamentation  around  the  basket  shown  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xix,  is  made 
up  of  two  closely  joined  constituents.  On  the  left  side  there  is  a  pair  of  facing 
spirals,  symbolical  representatives  of  cocks'  bodies,  as  suggested  by  the  two 
down-stretched  heads  with  pointed  beaks,  surmounted  by  two  round  figures.  In 
the  centre  of  the  design  on  the  right-hand  side  we  note  two  lozenge-shaped  figures 
placed  one  above  the  other,  the  upper  one  being  connected  on  either  side  with  a 
large  triskeles,  and  forming  with  it  the  bipartite  form  of  a  conventionalized  fish. 
These  triskeles  may  stand  as  an  abbreviation  for  the  cock.  They  terminate  below 
in  a  knob,  the  course  of  the  spiral  which  might  here  be  expected  being  interrupted, 
and  a  cock-spur  inserted  to  fill  the  space.  From  the  under  lozenge  a  pair  of  facing 
spirals  of  one  winding  proceed  downward.  The  edge  above  the  main  design  is 
decorated  with  a  continuous  spur-line. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xix,  shows  a  design  on  the  cover,  and  2  a  that  on  the  side,  of  a 
box.  The  former  is  divided  into  four  rectangular  fields  grouped  around  a  lozenge. 
The  two  fields  above  and  the  two  below  contain  two  combatant  cocks  (white), 
the  tips  of  whose  beaks  are  connected  by  an  ornamental  figure  the  extremities 
of  which  are  formed  like  cock-heads  with  pointed  beaks.  The  body  has  an  ellip 
soidal  form.  A  thickened  knob  and  a  somewhat  larger  projection  apparently 
characterize  the  wing-feather.  We  see  the  tail  in  the  shape  of  a  fish-tail,  one  lobe 
being  fashioned  into  a  conventionalized  bipartite  fish,  the  other  having  the  form 
of  a  bird's  head  and  neck,  under  which  another  conventionalized  fish  is  visible. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist..  Vol.  VII 


Plate  XVIII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Veil.  VII. 


Plate  XIX. 


L- 

.      :      •         •'-:-•      s/        •''  /     '        >.i  -;=-— 1_-  -       — —  — -' ~= 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  53 

To  the  latter  is  attached  a  bird's  beak  with  an  oval  under  it,  forming,  with  the 
adjoining  corresponding  figure  in  the  field  below,  a  geometrical,  almost  heart- 
shaped  design. 

The  foundation  of  the  ornament  in  Fig.  2  a,  Plate  xix,  based  on  simple 
symmetry  only,  is  a  double  spiral  ;  the  body  of  the  inverted  cock,  Type  B,  whose 
collateral  curved  branchlet  distinctly  marks  the  head,  being  formed  by  the  inner 
spiral,  the  beak  grasping  a  fish  with  down-stretched  circular  head,  and  tail  upturned. 
The  interior  of  the  outer  spiral  may  be  described  as  a  triskeles,  or,  better,  as  a 
fish-tail  the  two  lobes  of  which  are  shaped  like  cock-beaks.  The  upper  one  holds 
a  circle  ;  the  under  one,  a  trichotomous  fish,  which  it  grasps  between  body  and 
tail.  There  is  a  violation  of  the  rules  of  symmetry  here,  in  that  the  negative 
space  between  this  fish  and  the  cock's  beak  forms  a  bipartite  fish  on  the  right  side 
only. 

In  Fig.  3,  Plate  xix,  is  seen  a  front  view,  and  in  Fig.  3  a  a  back  view,  of 
a  basket.  The  central  figure  on  Fig.  3  was  explained  to  me  by  a  native  as  a 
human  face  ;  nevertheless  I  am  distrustful  of  such  an  interpretation,  which 
stands  quite  alone,  and  seems  to  be  merely  an  invention  of  my  informant. 
The  ears  and  mouth  would  then  be  indicated  by  scrolls.  On  either  side  of  this 
design  are  grouped  several  fishes  in  graceful  arrangement.  Above  is  a  fish  with 
broadened  head.  This  head  bears  an  incised  conventionalized  bipartite  fish,  which 
is  above  the  large  fish  to  the  right  of  an  incised  fish-tail,  and  another  in  the  lower 
right-hand  corner.  Under  the  large  fish  we  observe  a  coiled  fish  with  a  roundish 
head. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  ornamentation  on  Fig.  33  are  two  cocks  rampant, 
having  affixed  to  their  beaks  circles  which  coalesce  with  them.  In  the  nega 
tive  sections  we  see  a  cock's  beak  between  this  circle  and  the  positive  cock, 
and  another  beyond  its  neck  and  resting  on  the  outline  of  its  back.  On  the' 
body,  extended  forward,  is  incised  a  conventionalized  fish  with  tapering  tail, 
which  —  a  deviation  from  symmetry  —  cuts  the  whole  body  on  the  left-hand  side 
only.  The  tail  is  formed  of  two  parts,  — -  a  scroll,  with  a  fish-tail  cut  out  inside  of 
it ;  and  a  long  projection  below,  representing  a  bird's  beak  with  attached  head 
and  large  incised  circular  eye.  From  this  head  a  spiral  winds  off  downward, 
symbolizing,  as  it  were,  the  body  of  this  cock.  The  centre  is  taken  up  by  a  per 
forated  lozenge-shaped  figure,  from  which  extend  on  both  sides  two  conventional 
ized  bipartite  fishes.  The  two  triskeles  in  the  extreme  corners  at  the  base  also 
represent  fishes  with  scroll-like  heads.  The  manner  in  which  the  negative 
portions  are  reflected  from  the  positive  images,  in  designs  of  this  kind,  is  very 
remarkable. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xix,  which  represents  approximately  a  quarter  of  a  birch-bark 
tray,  shows  the  design  incised  on  its  bottom.  It  is  reproduced  here  not  so  much 
because  it  offers  especially  characteristic  features  in  this  connection,  but  rather  on 
account  of  its  eminent  beauty  and  the  careful  execution  of  work  of  similar  technique. 
It  belongs  to  the  same  category  as  the  band  and  chain  patterns  already  described. 


54  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

The  eye-like  circles  serve  to  mark  certain  termini  and  resting-places  for  the  bands. 
Some  of  the  negative  portions  have  assumed  the  shape  of  fishes. 

The  ornament  which  occurs  on  the  side  of  the  basket  shown  in  Fig.  i,  Plate 
\x,  is  composed  of  three  sections.  The  upper  starts  with  a  brace  in  the  middle, 
forming  on  each  side  the  upturned  heads  of  two  cocks  with  a  circle  in  front  of 
their  beaks,  except  in  the  case  of  the  cock  on  the  extreme  left,  where  it  is  missing. 
These  facing  birds  are  connected  by  two  curves,  producing  a  spur.  The  middle 
ornamental  portion  commences  under  the  point  of  the  brace  above  with  two  con 
ventionalized  bipartite  fishes,  whose  long-extended  bodies  follow  the  outline  of  the 
upper  brace-line,  and  finally  terminate  in  a  compound  spiral.  Three  heavy 
dots,  one  between  the  heads,  another  on  the  body,  the  third  over  the  coiled  tail, 
denote1,  the  course  of  this  ornamental  fish.  The  third  and  lowest  row  in  this 
design  starts  in  the  centre  with  two  scrolls,  appended  to  each  of  which  is  a  fish 
tail  in  triskeles  form.  Farther  along,  the  outer  winding  of  these  spirals  runs 
parallel  to  the  fish-body  above  it,  to  form  on  the  other  side  the  outlines  of  a 
conventionalized  bipartite  fish.  This  is  completed  by  a  parabolic  curve  to  which 
three  leaves  are  attached  ;  and  this  figure  is  so  combined  with  the  cock's  head 
above,  that  it  forms  at  the  same  time  the  body,  tail,  and  wing-feathers  of  that  bird. 

In  the  centre  of  the  decoration  on  another  basket  (Fig.  2,  Plate  xx)  we 
observe  a  vertical  axis  to  which  are  fastened  two  cocks  (ii)  of  Type  B,  standing 
erect,  recognizable  as  such  only  by  their  attitude  and  feet.  As  for  the  rest,  head 
and  body  bear  the  form  of  fishes.  The  same  type,  devised  as  fishes,  is  shown 
in  c  and/".  The  tail  of  c  ends  in  two  lobes,  so  arranged  that  its  outlines  form  a 
conventionalized  bipartite  fish.  The  fishes  at /are  combined  into  a  purely  orna 
mental  design.  In  b  we  see  a  different  but  simple  style  of  fish.  This  figure  forms, 
with  the  adjoining  scroll,  another  fish.  Between  a  and  b  is  inserted  a  spiral, 
whose  starting-point  is  adorned  with  two  leaves.  It  passes  over  into  another  spiral 
(d.)  This  second  spiral  seems  to  symbolize  the  body  of  a  cock,  whose  head  lies 
in  the  base  below,  its  beak  holding  the  triskeles-shaped  fish  c. 

The  foundation  of  the  ornament  on  the  basket  represented  in  Fig.  3,  Plate 
xx,  is  based  on  the  double  spiral,  whose  ingredients  /;  and  g  are  doubled  so  as  to 
form  facing  spirals.  /;  is  a  compound  spiral  starting  in  a  rounded  fish-head,  and  is 
at  the  same  time  the  symbolical  expression  for  a  cock's  body,  with  head  visible  at 
a.  The  oval  c,  placed  under  the  throat,  is  the  same  object  which,  in  other  cases, 
the  bird  seizes  in  its  beak.  The  two  opponent  birds  are  connected  by  an  arc  con 
sisting  of  two  spurs,  and  sending  down  in  the  middle  a  cross-formed  trefoil  (d) 
which  has  its  counterpart  below,  resting  on  a  wave-line.  The  other  spiral  (jf)  is 
so  shaped  that  it  includes  a  fish,  the  head  of  which  joins  the  two  united  triskeles 
e  and/,  the  latter  of  which  forms,  with  the  adjoining  curve,  a  conventionalized 
fish. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xx,  shows  a  tall  basket  for  holding  spoons  and  chopsticks.  It 
is  usually  suspended  from  the  wall.  The  upper  half  has  a  cylindrical  form  ;  the 
lower,  a  quadrangular.  There  is  a  double  ornament  here.  The  upper  one  is  cut 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XX. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  55 

out  of  a  piece  of  blackened  bark,  which  is  sewed  around  the  basket ;  the  under 
design  is  incised  into  the  bark.  Between  the  double  spirals  d  and  /of  the  upper 
ornament  is  inserted  the  picture  of  a  cock  :  its  head  (tt)  sending  forth  a  long 
falcate  beak  ;  the  usual  oval  (/>)  under  its  throat  ;  its  pinions  symbolized  by  the 
scroll  c,  over  which  a  crescent-like  spur  is  placed  ;  its  spurred  feet  marked  by  a 
triskeles.  Enclosed  in  the:  spiral  d  we  see  two  conventionalized  bipartite  fishes, 
their  heads  contiguous.  Under  this  spiral  is  the  figure  of  a  spur  (c),  which  suggests 
that  this  spiral  is  considered  as  a  cock's  body.  The  scroll  /  symbolizes  likewise 
a  cock's  body,  as  is  indicated  by  the  two  parallel  falcations  with  adjoining  oval,  in 
g,  apparently  signifying  the  bird's  head  and  beak.  The  circle  //  above  this  spiral 
is  the  object  usually  found  in  connection  with  the  cock,  and  above  it  is  in  reality 
a  cock's  head  cut  out  of  the  bark,  over  which  is  placed  the  conventionalized 
bipartite  fish  with  head  turned  downward  ;  so  that  here  a  double  cock  is  united 
in  the  same  spiral.  The  design  on  the  under  portion  is  a  triple  structure. 
The  central  field  is  occupied  by  two  cocks,  heads  pointed  downward,  an  oval 
under  each  of  their  throats,  the  bodies  indicated  by  scrolls,  each  encircling  a  con 
ventionalized  bipartite  fish,  the  tails  being  simply  prominent  knobs.  Above 
and  under  this  bird  are  triskeles-shaped  fish-tails,  the;  outer  arm  of  the  upper 
one  being  shaped  like  a  bird's  beak,  and  the  inner  arm  of  the  under  one  wound 
into  a  scroll. 

Figs.  5,  5  a,  Plate  xx,  and  Figs,  i,  i  a,  Plate  xxi,  represent  the  four  sides 
of  a  basket.  In  Figs.  5  and  5  a  the  under  and  side  edges  are  covered  with  key- 
ornaments  ;  the  upper  edges  with  a  chess-board  decoration,  which  latter  also 
appears  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxi.  On  these  three  designs  the  frequent  use  of  the 
St.  Andrew's  cross  is  particularly  noticeable.  In  Fig.  5  are  two  conventionalized 
cocks  in  the  form  of  double  spirals  placed  longitudinally,  and  combined  orna 
mentally  in  a  medial  vertical  axis.  The  heads  are  in  the  form  of  fish-tails,  the 
beaks  being  characterized  by  prolongations  of  their  under  arms.  The  tail  is  a 
long  tapering  falcation  stretched  downward  tangent  to  the  circle  filling  the  under 
half  of  the  trapezoid.  A  similar  type  is  met  with  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxi. 

The  concavities  in  the  upper  part  of  Fig.  5,  Plate  xx,  are  taken  up  by  two 
realistic  carp,  each  with  a  crescent-like  fin.  It  is  rather  singular  that  the  drawing 
on  these  fishes  should  vary  on  the  two  sides.  On  the  right,  fish-head  and  eye 
are  distinguished  by  two  concentric  circles.  The  conventionalized  fish  on  its 
body  shows  a  distinct  head  in  circular  form,  and  the  body  under  it  has  the  comma 
shape  of  the  Japanese  magalama.  The  head  of  the  carp  on  the  left-hand  side  is 
of  ellipsoidal  shape,  its  gill  being  specially  indicated  by  a  brace,  one  arm  of  which 
is  prolonged  into  a  semicircle  from  which  depend  two  successive  loops,  —  one 
large,  the  other  small.  Another  remarkable  departure  from  symmetry  may  be 
observed  in  Fig.  5  a,  where  are  seen  two  conventionalized  cocks,  each  holding  two 
circles  in  its  down-stretched  beak.  The  right  one  shows  the  conventionalized 
bipartite  fish  under  the  tail,  while  in  the  left  one  the  bipartition  is  replaced  by  the 
simple  rounded  fish. 


56  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 

The  general  framework  of  the  ornament  presented  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxi,  is 
almost  the  same  as  that  shown  in  Fig.  5,  Plate  xx,  but  particularly  in  the  lower 
portion,  where  two  facing  scrolls  are  surrounded  by  two  conventionalized  fishes 
having  a  curved  body  in  common.  The  cocks  above  have  two  circles  in  their 
mouths,  as  in  Fig.  5  a,  Plate  xx.  The  field  represented  in  Fig.  ra  is  treated 
merely  in  a  geometrical  way,  two  wave-lines  filled  in  with  triskeles  extending 
along  both  sides. 

On  the  basket,  Fig.  2,  Plate  xxi,  the  ornamented  portions  are  cut  out  of 
bark  and  appliqueed  to  the  box.  The  ornaments  are  symmetrically  arranged 
above  and  below,  as  is  shown  by  the  inserted  auxiliary  lines.  The  rectangle 
enclosed  by  them  is  the  fundamental  ingredient  of  the  whole  series  ;  slightly 
varied,  however,  in  the  corresponding  design  beyond  the  vertical  medial  axis. 
Here  occurs  the  interesting  case  of  two  cocks  united  in  one  figure.  At  the  points 
a  and  b  two  combatant  cocks  meet,  the  right  one  (a)  running  out  into  a  scroll  to 
which  the  body  of  the  cock  b  runs  parallel,  whereas  on  the  other  side  the  body  of 
the  cock  corresponding  to  a  only  borders  on  the  scroll  which  belongs  to  the  body 
of  the  cock  /;  on  that  side.  To  speak  from  a  purely  ornamental  point  of  view, 
there  is  a  lozenge  in  the  centre  (c)  with  two  perforations,  which  sends  forth  four 
scrolls  to  the  sides  and  a  three-scalloped  figure  above  and  below. 

Fig.  3  of  the  same  plate  represents  a  profusely  and  richly  decorated  basket, 
colored  in  red,  black,  and  blue.  The  upper  edge  (a),  divided  into  small  sections, 
contains  strongly  conventionalized  cocks  of  Type  B.  Those  in  the  hatched  parts 
have  their  necks,  heads,  and  beaks  lying  at  the  extreme  ends  of  a  wave-line,  their 
bodies  being  indicated  by  two  united  triskeles.  In  the  other,  larger  fields  the 
beaks  are  recurved  ;  and  between  neck  and  spiral  body  is  a  circle,  which  seems  to 
hint  at  a  misplacement  of  the  circle  usual  in  front  of  the  beak.  In  the  central 
part  there  are  several  large  fields  (It,  c,  d  )  bounded  by  a  wave-line.  In  field  c 
there  is  a  pair  of  facing  spirals  in  the  centre,  framed  by  combined  semicircles. 
Above  this  figure  are  two  confronting  cocks  ;  under  their  two  circles,  a  two-lobed 
leaf.  There  is  a  three-lobed  leaf  under  the  two  spirals.  On  either  side  of  these 
is  a  pair  of  fishes  with  heads  contiguous.  In  field  d  prevails  a  tasteful  com 
position  of  spirals,  two  upright  fish-heads  being  inserted  below.  The  lower  edge 
(e)  is  composed  of  double  spirals  shaped  into  triskeles  by  tangential  offshoots. 

Fig.  3  a  is  the  cover  to  the  box  represented  in  Fig.  3,  the  edge  being  adorned 
with  the  same  decorative  line  as  in  Fig.  3,  e.  The  central  field  shows  in  the 
middle  the  same  spiral  structure  as  in  Fig.  3,  c,  around  which  six  scrolls  are 
grouped. 

EMBROIDERY-PATTERNS.  —  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxn,  is  an  embroidered  border 
covered  with  a  double  row  of  ornaments.  The  upper  row  is  based  on  a  combina 
tion  of  two  figures,  —  two  conventionalized  combatant  fishes  and  two  united  cock- 
heads  shaped  like  the  letter  X,  large  ovals  being  attached  to  the  middle  piece 
which  joins  them.  In  the  under  row  there  is  a  wave-line,  the  single  components 
of  which  are  fashioned  like  bird-heads  with  pointed  beaks.  A  similar  formation 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plnte  XXI. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes, 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OK   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  57 

is  added  to  the  facing  spirals  filling  the  hollows  of  the  wave-line  that  open  down 
ward,  while  in  those  opening  upward  appears  a  doubling  of  the  same  figure  as 
that  in  the  upper  row  ;  that  is  to  say,  from  the  middle  vertical  axis  proceed  two 
pairs  of  beaks  to  both  sides,  the  lower,  smaller  ones  being  adorned  with  ovals. 

On  the  collar  in  Fig.  2,  Plate  xxn,  occurs  a  design  of  similar  style,  except 
that  in  the  under  part  the  two  ovals  are  put  side  by  side  between  the  two  out 
stretched  heads.  The  border  ( Fig.  2  a),  made  for  the  same  robe  as  the  collar,  is 
embroidered  with  a  double  pattern.  In  that  to  the  left  the  wave-line  is  formed 
likewise  of  cock-heads,  between  which  are  confronting  conventionalized  fishes  of 
two  different  forms  alternating  with  each  other. 

In  the  following  embroideries  the  single  parts  constituting  cock  and  fish 
ornaments  are  more  or  less  torn  apart,  displaced,  and  partly  distorted  ;  so  that  it 
is  hard  to  define  in  every  case  exactly  what  represents  a  cock  or  a  fish,  or  where 
the  beginning  or  ending  of  these  creatures  is.  We  see,  for  instance,  in  Figs.  3,  4, 
43,  and  5,  Plate  xxn,  simple  and  compound  triskeles  in  various  styles  and  com 
binations,  grouped  together  with  spirals.  A  comparison  with  the  forms  hitherto 
described  undoubtedly  proves  them  to  be  derived  from  components  of  the  cock. 
The  high  degree  of  distortion  gives  so  much  individual  freedom  of  choice  as  to 
interpretation,  considering  the  ambiguity  of  the  significance  of  the  single  pieces, 
that  it  would  be  a  hopeless  task  not  only  for  the  Western  student  of  these  orna 
ments,  but  also  for  the  cleverest  native  connoisseur,  to  draw  any  conclusion  as  to 
the  details  of  this  ornament.  At  this  point  a  geometrical  stage  opens  up,  where 
realistic  explanation  is  hopeless,  and  beyond  the  pale  of  which  no  one  can  go. 
That  there  is,  however,  an  undeniably  close  continuity  between  these  various 
degrees  of  evolution  is  evidently  shown  by  Figs.  6,  6 a,  6b,  all  patterns  belonging 
to  the  same  garment.  While,  as  regards  Fig.  6,  we  can  but  feel  like  declaring 
our  non  possumns,  still  we  are  able  to  decipher  the  two  cocks  with  their  downward- 
bent  beaks  and  oval  bodies  in  Fig.  6  a,  and  even  the  two  conventionalized  fishes 
placed  together  in  a  figure  the  geometrical  character  of  which  seems  to  be  strongly 
emphasized,  at  first  sight,  in  the  upper  part  of  this  ornament.  In  Fig.  6b  it  might 
be  possible  to  distinguish  the  cock-beaks,  through  the  circles  placed  in  front  of 
them,  on  the  spiral  to  the  left,  as  well  as  the  cock  filling  the  concavity  of  the  fol 
lowing  wave-line  ;  but  in  this  case  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  state  with  certainty 
which  part  is  to  be  looked  upon  as  head  or  tail,  granting  that  these  two  possibili 
ties  are  admissible. 

The  preceding  remarks  apply  also  to  Figs.  1-3,  Plate  xxm.  Only  the  two 
combatant  cocks  over  the  last  pair  of  spirals  in  Fig.  2,  and  the  two  conventional 
ized  fishes  turned  away  from  each  other  in  Fig.  3,  may  be  recognized  as  such 
with  any  degree  of  certainty. 

In  the  following  designs  a  definite  group  of  ornamentations  is  exhibited. 
There  is  a  double  principle  active  in  them, —  that  of  displacement  and  that  of 
combination. 

Fig.   4,  Plate   xxm,  shows  a  silk  collar.      The  design  consists  of  two  ele- 


58  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 

ments,  —  one  being  the  figures  cut  out  and  buttonhole-stitched  to  the  founda 
tion  ;  the  other,  the  designs  embroidered  on  these  pieces.  The  former  consists 
of  two  pairs  of  cocks  in  disconnected  parts.  The  heads  and  beaks  of  the  two  are 
formed  by  two  triskeles  united  into  one  figure  ;  the  bodies  consist  of  two  of  the 
cordate  figures  with  appended  fish-tails  or  scrolls.  The  embroidery  on  these 
body-pieces  is  composed  of  representations  of  contiguous  cocks  in  two  different 
forms.  In  both  cases  the  animal  is  adapted  to  the  cordate  leaf  on  which  it  is 
worked.  As  to  the  one  form,  the  neck  is  recurved  in  an  arch.  A  fish  is  substi 
tuted  for  the  body  ;  a  spiral  with  an  adjacent  parallel  lobe,  for  the  wing-feathers  ; 
and  two  huge,  almost  circular  falcations,  cleft  in  the  middle,  for  the  tail-feathers. 
The  other  type  has  as  body  a  spiral,  the  prolongated  outer  winding  of  which 
forms  the  upstretched  neck,  whereas  the  plumage  is  indicated  by  an  annexed 
semicircle  with  an  attached  offshoot  running  downward  and  closing  a  two-foliated 
leaf.  These  two  forms  of  cocks,  so  far  as  their  relation  to  each  other  is  concerned, 
represent  Type  B.  The  graceful  cordate  leaf-forms  are  reproduced  in  Figs.  43, 
5,  5  a,  5  b,  but  more  freedom  is  displayed  in  the  use  of  foliage  in  the  figures 
inside  of  them.  In  Fig.  4  a,  even  the  fishes  held  in  the  cock's  beak  are  embroidered 
in  the  same  style  as  leaves.  In  the  first  two  fields  are  two  cocks  curiously  placed 
one  above  the  other,  and  connected  with  each  other  on  the  inner  side  by  an  arc. 

Fig8-  5>  5  a>  ar>d  5b,  Plate  xxm,  show  the  foundations  of  an  embroidery- 
pattern,  the  ornaments  being  cut  out  of  paper  and  pasted  on  the  underlying  cloth, 
to  be  worked  around.  In  the  first  leaf  on  the  left-hand  side  of  Fig.  5  the  com 
bination  of  two  cocks  is  clearly  visible.  The  one  cock  holds  a  realistic  spiral- 
formed  fish  in  its  beak,  and  has  a  fish-body  whose  head  is  indicated  by  a  spiral 
and  the  tail  by  a  semicircular  appendage.  The  adjoining  cock  has  seized  in  its 
beak  two  circular  objects  adapted  for  embroidering  as  leaves,  and  has  a  strongly 
marked  tail  of  three  long  prongs.  In  the  following  leaf  the  two  cocks  are  united, 
and  hold  between  their  beaks  a  large  bipartite  fish,  while  the  three  wing-feathers 
of  the  lower  cock  have  adopted  the  form  of  this  same  fish-body.  Also  in  Fig.  5  a 
we  meet  with  a  field  containing  two  superposed  cocks.  In  the  two  central  leaf- 
forms  the  upper  birds  are  combatant,  the  lower  ones  opponent  and  inverted. 
The  upper  cock  has  one  leaf  above,  and  another  under,  its  neck,  the  origin  of 
which  is  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  upper  leaf  represents  the  leaf-like 
treatment  of  the  head,  the  under  one  that  of  the  well-known  circle.  For  the 
body  of  this  cock  is  substituted  a  fish,  and  another  realistic  fish  with  recurved  tail 
is  attached  to  the  spiral  above  it.  At  the  place  where  the  tail  turns  upward  is  a 
leaf.  Two  leaves  supply  the  place  of  a  scroll  in  the  body  of  the  lower  cock.  On 
the  outer  leaf  the  lower,  inverted  cock  holds  in  its  beak  a  bipartite  fish  with  the 
tail  pointing  upward.  Its  spiral-formed  body  sends  off  to  the  side  a  branchlet  in 
the  form  of  a  bird's  head  with  an  oval  under  it,  so  that  here  again  a  cock  seems 
to  be  intended.  The  superposed  figure  resembles  one  of  the  forms  seen  in 
Fig.  4  of  this  plate. 

Fig.  5  b,  Plate  xxm,  is  constructed  of   three  cordate  leaves,  so   arranged 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXIII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXIV. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   AMUR    TRIBES.  59 

that  the  outlines  of  the  three  form  another  heart-shaped  figure.  Under  the 
indentation  of  the  upper  heart  is  a  circle,  three  oblong  leaves  radiating  from 
it,  —  one  below,  and  two  on  the  sides.  Its  two  crescent-shaped  lobes  are  occupied 
by  two  confronting  fishes  coiled  into  spiral  form  with  tapering  body  and  tail. 
The  two  lower  hearts  agree,  in  the  representations  on  them,  with  the  two  central 
ones  in  Fig.  5  a. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xxiv,  is  an  embroidered  pattern.  The  upper  part  is  taken 
up  by  two  facing  cocks  rampant,  head  and  body  formed  after  the  fish  type.  As 
cocks  they  are  recognizable  merely  by  their  two  feet.  Between  these  feet  are 
two  bird-beaks  combined  into  a  geometrical  figure  in  the  centre  of  the  lower, 
wider  section  of  the  design,  bearing  a  triskeles,  one  arm  of  which  is  likewise  beak- 
formed,  and  the  other  two  convoluted  into  a  scroll.  The  oval  into  which  the 
under  arm  runs  out  is  at  the  same  time  the  head  of  a  conventionalized  bipartite 
fish,  which,  as  it  would  seem,  is  drawn  on  a  cock's  body  whose  tail  is  formed 
by  the  triskeles  just  referred  to.  The  beak  is  lowered  as  if  about  to  touch  the 
circle  under  the  throat.  The  branches  intended  to  indicate  crest  and  pinions  are 
above  the  head.  The  remarkable  features  in  this  representation  are  the  manner 
in  which  the  single  portions  making  up  the  three  cocks  merge  into  one  another, 
and  the  fact  that  many  parts  belong  to  the  three  types  in  common. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xxiv,  is  an  embroidered  pattern  in  triangular  form.  In  this 
pattern  we  observe  on  both  sides  three  distinct  single  cock-beaks,  —  the  uppermost 
bent  upward,  the  middle  one  outward,  the  undermost  still  more  curved  and  turned 
inward, —  all  three  set  with  ovals  or  circles,  probably  survivals  of  head  and  eye. 
On  the  edge  below  are  two  separate  long-stretched  conventionalized  tripartite 
fishes  with  spoon-formed  tails.  The  same  types,  standing  upright,  and  connected 
below  with  each  other,  appear  in  the  upper  part  of  this  ornament.  Also  the 
long  branches  of  the  two  facing  spirals  under  them  are  composed  of  two  pairs 
of  cock-beaks  which  join  at  their  points.  In  verification  of  the  fact  that  this 
principle  of  displacement  occurs  also  in  the  area  of  Sino-Japanese  art,  a  Japanese 
weaving-pattern  is  represented  in  Fig.  3,  in  which  bird-heads  having  only  a  long 
neck  are  placed  parallel  to  spirals  and  alternating  with  them,  as  in  our  ornaments. 
Also  the  long  offshoots  of  the  spirals  agree  with  our  conventionalized  fishes, 
as  well  as  the  adjoining  bipartite  figures. 

The  next  three  embroideries  (Figs.  4,  5,  6,  Plate  xxiv),  each  of  double 
symmetry,  are  usually  united  into  groups  of  four,  and  sewed  to  sleeping-mats.  In 
Fig.  4  there  is  a  lozenge  in  the  middle,  around  which  cluster  four  compound 
spirals,  between  the  inner  and  outer  windings  of  which  are  spur-lines.  At  the 
upper  and  lower  extremities  of  this  pattern  are  two  smaller  triskeles-spirals  which 
proceed  from  the  larger  ones.  On  either  side  of  the  large  spirals  two  triskeles 
are  placed,  the  two  outer  ones  striving  after  the  fish-form,  the  other  two  after  the 
cock-form.  The  square  patterns  seen  in  Figs.  5  and  6  are  cut  out  of  velvet  and 
outlined  in  chain-stitch.  If  we  look  at  one  of  the  quarters  from  one  of  its  outer 
corners  in  the  direction  of  its  diagonal,  we  shall  see  that  the  fundamental 


60  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

element  of  the  ornament  in  Fig.  5  consists  of  two  superposed  confronting  cocks. 
The  spirals  which  represent  the  tails  are  rolled  outside  in  the  upper  pair,  and 
inside  in  the  lower  ones.  On  either  side  of  the  upper  cock  is  a  conventionalized 
bipartite  fish.  Both  of  these  and  also  the  large  cocks  form  ornamental  figures 
with  the  adjacent  corresponding  cocks  or  fishes  of  the  neighboring  rectangles. 
Fig.  6  illustrates  a  structure  related  to  that  of  the  preceding  one.  Four 
heart-shaped  figures  (/>)  are  clustered  in  the  centre  in  a  square.  Above  their 
points,  in  the  direction  of  the  diagonal  of  the  square,  in  each  of  the  four 
quarters,  is  a  cross,  its  two  side-arms  terminating  in  spirals  (c),  and  its  rounded 
extremity  (a)  being  adorned  with  a  pair  of  fishtail-formed  triskeles. 

•Fig.  i,  Plate  xxv,  represents  an  embroidered  quadrangular  piece  placed 
on  its  point,  used  on  the  cape  of  a  winter  hood.  The  ornament  represents  a 
spiral  structure  that  decreases  in  size  as  it  proceeds  upward.  In  the  centre  (black) 
are  two  cocks  rampant  developed  from  the  fish-form  ;  to  the  right  and  left  of 
these,  two  conventionalized  birds,  their  necks  and  heads  stretched  upward.  The 
confusion  of  the  single  ornamental  parts  here  has  been  carried  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  circular  object  has  been  taken  away  from  the  beak  and  placed  in  front  of 
the  two  falcations  of  the  tail,  which  thus  convey  the  impression  that  they  are 
beaks.  In  corroboration  of  the  idea  of  the  wing-feathers,  which  are  expressed 
by  the  upper  of  the  two  tail-flukes,  appears  by  the  side  of  it  a  parallel  crescent. 
This  distortion  proves  sufficiently  well  that  the  conception  of  ihe  original 
meaning  of  the  ornament  has  diminished  in  clearness.  Almost  all  elements  of 
this  decoration,  aside  from  the  pure  spirals,  are  either  birds'  necks  with  beaks,  or 
spurs,  or  small  ovals.  The  original  types  are  on  the  verge  of  being  dissolved 
into  single  disconnected  and  sometimes  misunderstood  parts  :  the  principle  of 
symmetrical  and  tasteful  arrangement,  however,  is  still  observed. 

An  embroidered  pattern  for  a  pair  of  wristers  is  shown  in  Fig.  2  of  this  plate. 
The  edges  are  decorated  with  single  spur-lines  above  and  below.  The  same 
style  of  line  is  also  used  to  surround  other  figures.  In  the  uppermost  section 
of  the  ornamentation  we  find  two  facing  combatant  fishes,  ending  below  in 
spirals,  their  heads  surrounded  by  a  figure  formed  of  two  spur-lines.  Below 
them  is  a  four-leaved  rosette.  Between  two  pairs  of  facing  spirals  are  observed 
two  conventionalized  bipartite  fishes  in  the  act  of  swimming;  farther  below,  two 
cocks  rampant  whose  heads  are  connected  by  a  semicircle.  Over  the  spirals 
forming  the  tails  of  these  birds  are  bipartite  fishes. 

We  will  now  turn  to  some  fantastic  compositions  occurring  on  embroidered 
material.  On  the  triangular  pattern  of  raised  embroidery  (Fig.  3,  Plate  xxv) 
are,  in  the  upper  part,  two  combatant  musk-deer  with  two  legs  and  scrolled  tails. 
To  the  right  and  left  of  the  compound  facing  spirals  under  them  we  see  two  long 
outstretched  bird-heads,  the  upper  line  of  which  is  formed  by  a  brace.  The 
outlines  constituting  the  head  continue  downward  into  two  parallel  spirals.  The 
ornament  on  the  embroidered  band  (Fig.  4)  is  made  up  of  two  semicircles.  In 
the  two  ends  of  each  are  visible  two  cock-heads  side  by  side,  with  two  circles 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXV 


Decorative  Art,  oi'  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  61 

in  front  of  them  forming  together  the  figure  8.  Their  bodies  are  composed 
of  a  spiral  with  a  semicircle  resting  on  it.  The  two  symmetrical  figures  are 
combined  below  by  a  spur,  which  they  have  in  common. 

On  the  collar  (Fig.  5,  Plate  xxv)  belonging  to  the  same  series  of  patterns, 
we  observe,  in  the  centre,  two  confronting  upright  fish-cocks.  On  either  side  of 
them  are  two  others,  whose  bodies  are  produced  by  placing  two  fishes  together  in 
the  form  of  a  spiral.  In  the  lower  field  the  cock-beaks  hold,  instead  of  the  usual 
fish,  the  figure  of  a  plant-form,  — a  kind  of  trefoil. 

The  riband  seen  in  Fig.  6,  Plate  xxv,  belongs  to  the  same  garment  as  the 
collar  above  mentioned.  Here  are  facing  spirals.  From  the  sides  of  those  rolled 
upward  project  cock-heads  with  semicircles  under  the  throats,  resting  on  the  outer 
windings  of  the  spirals  ;  from  those  rolled  downward  issue  inverted  cock-heads 
with  ovals  placed  on  the  backs  of  their  necks. 

The  ornaments  on  the  following  patterns  (Figs.  7-10,  Plate  xxv,)  are  treated 
in  arboreal  style.  The  figures  represented  are  used  to  trim  shirt-pockets. 
Fig.  7  shows  two  cock-beaks  turned  downward,  and  encompassed  on  the  sides 
by  spur-lines,  both  holding  a  three-lobed  rosette.  At  the  lower  extremities  of 
the  under  arcs  are  two  leaves,  consisting  of  three  circles  each  ;  and  near  the  same 
ends  of  the  arcs  are  two  fishes  moulded  in  the  style  of  leaves.  In  Fig.  8  four  dif 
ferent  forms  of  conventionalized  fishes  lie  close  together  (a,  b,  c,  d  ),  three  of  them 
(6,  c,  d}  clustered  around  a  circle.  Farther  below  is  a  conventionalized  tripartite 
fish  (e}  ;  f  is  also  an  imitation  of  the  fish-body,  but  is  here  developed  into  a 
palmetto-like  floral  pattern.  A  figure  of  similar  character  occurs  in  the  lower  part 
of  Fig.  9.  The  latter  was  evidently  intended  for  the  trunk  of  a  tree  sending 
off  spiral-formed  boughs,  the  edges  of  which  are  adorned  with  three  single  leaves. 
Fig.  10  illustrates  a  plant-like  design  of  allied  style  in  the  under  part  of  the  orna 
ment,  the  lateral  branches  being  indicated  by  long,  narrow  fish-forms  (large  ribbed 
leaves),  and  the  centre  filled  with  a  small  two-lobed  leaf,  below  which  issues 
another  large  one.  In  the  upper  part  we  have  two  conventionalized  fishes 
attached  to  a  pair  of  facing  spirals.  In  the  corners  beyond  the  fishes  are  two 
triskeles-shaped  cocks  characterized  as  such  by  the  conventional  form  of  the  fish 
in  their  respective  beaks. 

Fig.  11,  Plate  xxv,  is  added  here  because  it  shows  a  pattern  pertaining  to 
the  same  robe  as  the  four  preceding  ones.  There  is  a  palmetto-like  figure  in  the 
centre,  from  which  branch  off  on  both  sides  arabesques  built  up  of  triskeles. 

Figs,  i  and  la,  Plate  xxvi,  show  a  woman's  embroidered  mitten  made  of 
reindeer-skin  covered  with  cloth.  The  former  represents  the  back,  and  the  latter 
the  palm.  The  spaces  between  the  single  lines  are  filled  up  with  zigzag  stitches. 
On  the  back  of  the  mitten  is  a  tree-like  formation,  in  which  two  two-lobed  leaves 
are  attached  to  opposite  sides  of  a  stem,  the  two  on  the  left  being  embroidered  in 
ereen  satin-stitch,  those;  on  the  ri^ht  in  lilac.  This  tree  is  crowned  with  a  heart- 

o  o 

shaped  figure  enclosing  a  bifoliate  red-colored  leaf.  The  five  leaves  contained  in 
the  ellipse  below  are  all  light  green.  Tendrils  adorned  with  triskeles  grow  round 


62  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 

this  tree.  On  Fig.  la  the  embroidery  is  placed  on  the  thumb  of  the  mitten. 
The  motive  is  here  the  same,  —  composed  of  a  triskeles  form,  an  S-shaped  figure, 
the  under  part  of  which  is  cordate  in  shape  and  encloses  two  leaves  in  red. 

The  skin  glove  pictured  in  Fig.  2  of  the  same  plate  is  covered  with  velvet 
bearing  a  chain-stitch  embroidery  in  silk.  The  pattern  is  an  artistic  structure  of 
fanciful  combinations.  On  the  top  are  two  heraldic  combatant  cocks,  whose 
heads  are  formed  by  an  oval  («),  from  which  the  plumage  goes  off  into  three 
depending  branches.  On  the  marginal  branches  (6)  is  drawn,  with  the  aid  of 
a  spur-line,  a  bipartite  fish  ;  and  a  similar  figure  occurs  also  in  c  and  d  in  connec 
tion  with  spirals.  In  e  two  leaves  are  enclosed  again  in  a  heart-form,  f  is  the  head 
of  a  cock  placed  sideways,  and g  its  tail.  In  the  pointed  end  of  //-  are  united  two 
cock-heads  holding  in  common  the  leaf  ?',  while  on  the  outside  appears  the 
exquisitely  curved  bird-neck  j  bearing  the  leaf  k.  In  the  interior  of  the  under 
most  spiral  is  the  body  of  a  conventionalized  bipartite  fish  embroidered  as  a  leaf 
(/ ),  the  head  of  this  fish  being  held  by  the  beak  m.  This  figure  is  surrounded  by 
a  line. 

Fig-  3>  Plate  xxvi,  represents  an  elk-skin  garment,  obtained  from  the 
Tungus  on  the  Ussuri.  A  series  of  figures  is  spread  over  the  surface  of  the 
back,  the  decorations  being  painted  in  blue,  red,  and  yellow.  Only  the  part  over 
the  hips  is  cut  out  of  fish-skin  and  appliqueed  to  the  garment.  In  a  we  see  two 
opposite  single  cocks,  built  up  essentially  from  purely  geometrical  ingredients. 
The  head  consists  of  two  superposed  semicircles,  the  lower  of  which  runs  out  into 
a  recurved  arc.  From  that  issues  a  branch  in  the  opposite  direction,  to  form  with 
the  scroll  a  triskeles,  expressing  the  fish  held  in  the  cock's  beak.  The  body 
is  formed  of  three  semicircles  which  unite  at  their  ends,  and  enclose  two  crescent- 
like  fishes.  The  feet  are  in  the  shape  of  an  anchor-formed  combination  of  two 
triskeles  ;  the  outer  arm  of  the  outer  triskeles  in  both  cocks  being  shortened  into 
a  knob,  the  inner  forming  a  semicircular  claw.  The  cock  on  the  right  side  has 
below  it  an  additional  figure  that  repeats  a  schematic  outline  of  the  foot.  The 
tail  is  a  very  intricate  formation, —  below  a  spiral,  which  appears  as  a  continu 
ation  of  the  under  outline  of  the  body.  The  upper  outline  is  continued  into  a 
strongly  conventionalized  cock  with  a  circle  on  its  head  and  a  fish-tail  beyond. 
Between  the  tails  of  the  principal  cocks  and  those  appended  appear  the  R-formed 
figures  enclosing  the  image  of  a  bipartite  fish.  The  cocks  b  and  c  stand  side 
ways,  and  also  consist  of  geometrical  elements.  The  manner  in  which  they  are 
evolved  is  shown  by  a  comparison  of  these  figures  with  d.  At  the  sides  of  d 
we  observe  anchor-formed  appendages.  These  are  carried  out  in  b  and  c  in  such 
a  way  that  one  arm  of  the  anchor  forms  the  head  and  neck,  the  other  the  tail,  of 
the  cock.  Whether  the  anchor-formed  type  d  has  been  developed  from  b  and  c, 
or,  better,  whether  d  is  a  prius  which  served  as  a  foundation  for  building  up  b  and 
c,  must  still  be  regarded  as  an  unsolved  problem.  In  the  same  figures  two  addi 
tional  groups  have  been  produced,  the  one  in  the  middle  in  combatant  attitude 
with  spiral  body,  the  other  at  the  top  with  recurved  beaks.  This  latter,  inverted 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII 


Plate  XXVI. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  63 

form  appears  in  normal  position  in  the  under  portion  of  e,  only  that  here  a  slight 
wave  occurs  in  the  comparatively  long  neck.  The  point  of  this  figure  (e}  is  crowned 
by  a  trefoil,  under  which,  in  the  figure  on  the  right-hand  side,  is  a  cock  type  closely 
allied  to  the  under  one,  except  that  here  the  beaks  are  more  extended  in  a  down 
ward  direction  without  tapering.  On  the  left-hand  side  is  a  case  of  asymmetry, 
since  there,  instead  of  thick  lines  like  those  in  the  figure  on  the  right,  occur  sim 
ple  lines  of  the  same  form,  but  inverted.  There  are  five  figures  exactly  alike 
(/).  These  form,  above  and  below,  a  narrow  tapering  structure.  In  this 
picture  the  negative  parts  show  the  type  of  the  confronting  tripartite  cocks  in 
the  fish  style,  which  is  so  hard  to  distinguish  from  the  conventionalized  fishes 
themselves. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xxvi,  represents  a  painting  on  the  upper  part  of  a  pair  of 
leggings  made  of  elk-skin.  The  ornamental  organization  is  executed  here  by  two 
opposite  double  spirals  near  the  upper  edge,  separated  from  each  other  by  a  lon 
gitudinal  wedge,  the  fish-tail  end  of  which  joins  a  pair  of  facing  spirals.  Over  the 
left  double  spiral  is  a  long-stretched  cock  (a)  in  green,  with  a  tail  like  that  of  a 
pheasant.  The  lozenge  shape  of  the  body  and  the  engrailed  line  forming  its  edge 
are  most  remarkable.  Strange  and  unique  in  its  kind  is  the  fact  that  this  horizon 
tally  placed  cock  (a)  occurs  in  combatant  attitude  with  the  vertically  placed  cock 
(<$),  whose  body  likewise  is  shaped  like  a  lozenge  ;  the  latter,  however,  does  not  run 
out  into  a  tail,  but  into  another  inverted  cock-head  turned  to  the  left,  which,  in  its 
turn,  is  represented  in  combatant  position  with  an  inverted  cock  (e),  whose  body, 
also  lozenge-shaped,  runs  off  above  into  a  fish-tail.  We  are  again  surprised  in  this 
design  to  note,  on  the  corresponding  side,  an  arrangement  of  types  bearing  the 
same  relation  to  each  other  as  a  to  b,  but  the  two  cocks  d  and  e  are  placed  on  a 
horizontal  plane.  The  cock  d  has  likewise  the  tail  of  a  pheasant.  The  line 
forming  the  back,  however,  is  an  uninterrupted  curve,  as  the  proper  form  of  the 
cock's  body  is  in  general  retained  here  in  a  much  higher  degree  than  in  a  and  b. 
d  a.n<\  c  have  an  engrailed  line  consisting  of  three  arcs,  marked  more  strongly  in 
e  than  in  d.  Over  d  and  e  are  two  combatant  cocks  of  more  distinct  forms  than  the 
two  birds  over  a.  The  fish-like  cock  is  represented  in  the  designs  f  and  ;>. 
Each  of  these  holds  two  fishes  in  its  beak, —  a  conventionalized  one  (//,  i),  and 
a  rather  realistic  one  (j,  k)  with  the  eyes  marked.  Worthy  of  note  is  the 
asymmetry  between  the  two  space-filling  conventionalized  fishes  /  and  ;;/  on  the 
one  side,  and  the  fishes  u  and  o  on  the  other.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  call 
special  attention  to  the  cock-heads  united  in  the  figure  p,  nor  to  those  on  the 
adjoining  leaf-forms  below. 

The  embroidery  in  Fig.  5,  Plate  xxvi,  is  worked  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
back  of  a  garment.  The  same  design  is  found  on  both  sides.  In  the  middle  is 
the  trunk  of  a  tree  with  an  ornamental  top,  and  sending  off  three  main  boughs  to 
both  sides.  Two  musk-deer  with  heads  turned  so  that  they  face  each  other  are 
embroidered  at  the  place  where  the  lowest  pair  of  boughs  branch  off.  The  tips 
of  these  boughs  are  adorned  with  trifoliates  ;  on  their  sides  are  two  roes  which 


64  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

seem  to  be  climbing  up.  On  the  second  boughs  blossom  two  quinquefoliate 
flowers,  the  petals  of  which  are  grouped  in  the  form  of  hooks  around  a  circle. 
Between  the  two  flowers  are  two  large  tortoises  ;  over  these,  cocks  placed  sideways, 
with  a  two-lobed  leaf  behind  them.  To  the  right  and  left  of  the  large  tree-trunk 
are  two  smaller  trees  decorated  at  their  tops  with  a  trefoil  surrounded  by  triskeles- 
formed  branches.  From  the  trunks  of  these  trees  proceed  to  both  sides  cocks 
that  appear,  as  it  were,  to  be  growing  out  from  the  tree.  The  ground  on  which 
the  trees  stand  is  characterized  by  a  line  sending  off  downwards  at  both  ends  four 
offshoots  corresponding  to  the  cocks'  plumage.  At  a  short  distance  from  the  tops 
of  the  small  trees  are  two  elks  with  antlers.  In  the  escutcheon-like  piece  in  the 
upper  right-hand  corner  of  the  embroidery  are  to  be  seen  two  conventional  forms 
of  musk-deer  with  faces  turned  away  from  each  other. 

Fig.  6,  Plate  xxvi,  represents  an  embroidered  shirt.  In  the  centre  of  the 
longitudinal  border  (a)  are  two  combatant  fish-cocks  with  a  bifid  crest  on  their 
heads  and  a  spur-line  combining  these.  In  the  other  concavities  are  pairs  of 
strongly  conventionalized  opposite  musk-deer,  their  necks  recurved  so  that  they 
face  each  other,  with  erect  ears,  spiral  bodies,  and  two  long  curved  legs.  This 
type  is  nearest  to  that  described  in  the  preceding  figure.  The  ornament  on  the 
two  pockets  (6)  is  composed  of  two  portions.  The  upper  part  contains  two 
scrolls,  oval  in  shape,  the  outer  winding  of  which  continues  in  the  form  of  a 
conventionalized  bipartite  fish,  the  ends  of  which  are  connected  by  a  spur-line. 
Lying  within  the  scrolls  are  two  inverted  cocks,  whose  type  is  derived  from  that 
of  the  fish  just  mentioned,  except  that  here  a  tripartition  is  employed.  Both 
from  this  fact  and  from  the  crest  marked  on  the  head,  the  gallinaceous  character 
of  this  theme  is  indicated.  The  under  part  is  taken  up  by  a  group  of  two 
parallel  tendrils,  the  lower  of  which  encloses  a  quaclrifoil  ;  and  the  upper,  four 
spirals  grouped  around  a  lozenge-like  rosette.  In  the  two  under  lateral  tendrils, 
which  issue  from  a  branch,  the  conventionalized  bipartite  fish  is  used  to  connect 
the  two.  The  field  c  shows  an  interesting  variety  of  the  conventional  dragon. 
There  are  two  creatures  represented  in  confronting  attitude.  The  heads  are  two 
simple  scrolls.  The  bodies  are  indicated  by  spirals  wound  three  times.  In  the 
outer  windings  a  portion  is  marked  off  on  which  the  scales  are  characterized  by 
three  short  teeth.  The  outer  spirals,  forming  double  spirals  with  the  dragon 
bodies,  are  set  with  three  claws  to  indicate  the  feet.  Over  them  the  tail  of  the 
dragon  is  symbolized  by  three  cock-feathers.  The  two  serpentine  lines  lying 
between  the  tails  and  the  bodies  are  explained  as  snakes,  a  further  ornamental 
expedient  to  characterize  the  animal  nature  of  this  creature. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xxvn,  represents  an  embroidered  shirt  of  the  Gold.  From 
the  collar,  down  both  sides  of  the  front  opening,  is  a  border  (a)  composed  of 
double  spirals  consisting  of  two  parallel  lines.  These  double  spirals  are  so  inter 
locked  that  the  outer  winding  of  the  scroll  at  one  end  merges  into  the  inner  line 
of  that  at  the  other  end,  and  vice  versa,  the  outer  line  of  both  scrolls  being 
adorned  with  a  double  triskeles.  In  the  fields  b  and  c  ornamental  trees  are 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Not.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXVII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES.  65 

designed.  Two  opposite  hearts  divide  the  latter  field.  In  the  upper  heart  are 
four  semicircles  used  as  supports  for  leaves  ;  the  under  heart  shows  a  tree-trunk, 
the  top  of  which  is  adorned  with  an  oval  leaf  ;  while  semicircles,  crescents,  and 
ovals  are  represented  as  leaf-bearing  boughs.  The  lateral  fields  are  occupied  y 
fish-cocks  with  one  head  at  the  end  of  the  fish-tail  and  two  heads  superposed 
over  the  fish-head.  In  b  two  branches  are  carried  out  as  bird-beaks,  each  holding 
two  leaves.  There  is  a  similar  motive  on  the  upper,  smaller  pockets,  only  there 
a  cruciform  leaf-cluster  appears  between  the  two  deflected  beaks. 

On  the  border  extending  from  the  collar  to  the  bottom  of  the  woman's 
embroidered  silk  dress  seen  in  Fig.  2,  Plate  xxvn,  the  artist  has  pictured 
single  groups  of  facing  spirals  connected  with  conventionalized  fishes,  displaying 
the  enormous  variations  of  which  these  simple  forms  are  capable.  Among  the 
twelve  consecutive  groups  a-l,  there  are  only  three  corresponding  pairs  ;  viz., 
e  and  g,  i  and  /(•,  j  and  /. 

On  the  garment  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  xxvn,  we  see  combinations  of  two 
fish-spirals.  One  of  them  contains  the  same  motive  as  i  in  Fig.  2  ;  that  is, 
spirals  with  two  conventionalized  bipartite  fishes  united  into  one  figure  and 
placed  around  them.  The  other  motive  is  a  recurved  spiral  worked  out  as  a 
fish-body,  with  tail  in  the  form  of  a  triskeles.  On  the  bottom  edge,  fish-bodies 
are  gracefully  twined  close  around  the  spirals,  that  terminate  alternately,  below, 
in  cock's  heads. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xxvn,  shows  a  dress  embroidered  with  white  chain-stitching  on 
a  black  background.  The  ornaments  on  the  two  longitudinal  borders  might  be 
designated  as  continuous  cock-spirals,  for,  in  spite  of  their  scroll  character,  the 
original  cock  motive  is  still  rather  conspicuous.  Exactly  in  the  middle  we 
observe  what  are  obviously  cocks  of  Type  B,  their  backs  turned  toward  each 
other.  The  beaks  are  strongly  marked.  The  ovals  are  under  the  throats,  and 
the  two  bodies  are  connected  above  by  an  arc,  inside  of  which  two  conventional 
ized  fishes  are  designed.  At  the  beginning  no  less  than  at  the  end  of  this 
pattern  the  beak  with  the  roundish  object  in  front  of  it  is  distinctly  visible  in  the 
fishtail-shaped  triskeles;  also  in  the  other  triskeles  next  to  the  central  figure  the 
head  stands  out  distinct  from  the  beak  of  the  bird,  and  this  motive  occurs 
also  on  the  collar.  On  the  upper  part  of  the  pockets  sewed  to  both  sides  we 
note  an  odd  figure  not  as  yet  met  with.  Within  two  crescents  we  find  two 
conventionalized  fishes,  and  over  their  heads  the  head,  eye,  and  beak  of  a  cock  ; 
while  over  each  fish-tail  rises  the  head  of  a  musk-deer,  its  two  ears  erect.  Two 
combatant  cocks  and  two  deer,  their  heads  turned  so  that  they  are  looking  at 
each  other,  are  accordingly  united  in  this  one  figure. 

In  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxvm,  is  represented  a  woman's  silk-embroidered  coat. 
On  it  are  seen  two  perching  cocks  (a)  standing  opposite  each  other,  and  holding 
fishes  in  their  mouths.  Under  each  of  these  single  cocks  is  a  pair  of  combatant 
cocks  (ti)  showing  a  much  more  advanced  stage  of  conventionalization.  In  the 
cocks  placed  sideways  (c)  the  pinions  as  well  as  the  tail-feathers  are  expressed 


66  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

by  conventionalized  cocks,  d  is  the  terminating  figure  of  a  wave-line, — a  spiral, 
with  a  fish-body  attached  below,  and  two  cock-feathers  above.  The  same 
motive  is  employed  in  the  representation  of  the  cock  e.  f  shows  the  type  of  two 
inverted  combatant  cocks.  The  body  is  formed  here  by  a  fish,  which  continues 
into  another  fish  placed  around  the  spiral  of  the  wing.  The  tail  is  indicated 
by  three  feathers,  and  the  feet  by  a  scroll  with  lateral  offshoot,  g  corresponds 
almost  to  the  type  B,  only  that  here  the  head  of  the  fish  in  the  bird's  body 
is  placed  above,  and  its  body  below.  Besides,  the  spaces  between  the  cocks' 
bodies  and  the  separating  vertical  axis  form  again  conventionalized  fishes.  In 
/i,  i,  and  j  are  to  be  seen  spirals  adorned  with  cocks'  wing  and  tail  feathers. 
A  remarkable  design  is  k,  where  the  two  cock-feathers  in  the  interior  of  the 
oval  figures  represent  the  missing  spiral  lines.  Finally,  in  /  leaf-ornaments  have 
also  been  employed,  partly  in  the  form  of  two  contiguous  circles,  partly  in  that 
of  ellipses  enclosing  a  heart-shaped  figure. 

Si'i'X'iMEXs  MADE  OF  FISH-SKIN.  —  We  have  several  times  met  with  chess-board 
patterns  (see  Fig.  i,  Plate  x  ;  Figs.  5,  5  a,  Plate  xx  ;  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxi),  notwith 
standing  the  fact  that  the  game  of  chess  is  not  known  to  any  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Amur  region.  Two  other  examples  follow  here. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xxvin,  shows  the  design  on  a  tobacco-pouch  made  of 
roe-skin,  the  interior  of  which  is  covered  with  fish-skin.  Here  are  quadrangular 
fields  covered  with  chess-board  patterns  composed  of  pieces  of  white  and  black 
fish-skin,  which  alternate  with  other  fields  of  plain  roe-skin.  The  ornament  cut 
out  of  fish-skin  on  the  inner  side  of  the  lappet  is  subdivided  into  three  parts. 
The  upper  part  contains  a  pair  of  facing  spirals,  around  which  cling  two 
conventionalized  bipartite  fishes,  the  eyes  marked  by  small  circles.  Between 
their  bodies  is  a  trefoil.  In  each  of  the  two  lower  symmetrical  fields  are  two 
superposed  spiral  cocks,  each  of  the  under  ones  holding  a  trefoil  in  its  beak. 

Fig.  3  of  this  plate  represents  an  apron  which  is  a  kind  of  fish-skin  patchwork. 
There  are  three  rows  of  squares  containing  alternately  chess-board  patterns 
and  other  decorations.  In  the  former,  light  and  dark  strips  are  interlaced  as 
in  braid-work,  the  number  of  checks  varying  from  seven  to  nine.  The  spaces 
between  the  squares  and  the  separate  rows  are  filled  up  with  long  stripes, 
alternately  white  and  black,  arranged  in  most  cases  diagonally.  There  are  two 
different  ornamental  figures  in  the  other  squares.  In  the  one  are  four  pairs 
of  facing  spirals,  grouped  like  a  rosette  around  a  figure  consisting  of  two 
trefoils.  This  ornament  is  cut  out  of  fish-skin  and  sewed  on  a  piece  of  dark-red 
cloth  ;  the  other  figure  is  sewed  on  black  cloth.  In  this  latter,  four  conventional 
ized  cocks  are  grouped  around  a  lozenge.  The  figures  across  the  lower  edge 
are  likewise  cut  out  of  fish-skin,  sewed  on,  and  colored  alternately  light  brown 
and  bluish  green.  The  fish-skin  threads  used  here  are  red,  green,  blue,  lilac, 
and  violet. 

-^Fig.  4,    Plate    xxvm,   is  a  Goldian    hunter's    cap    made    of  roe-skin,  lined 
with  blue  Chinese  cotton.     The  crown  is  topped  with  two  tassels  and  a  sable-tail. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nnt.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXVIII. 


T~  3 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXIX. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  67 

The  edtre  is  covered  with  a  strip  of  black  and  one  of  red  cloth,  between  which  are 

O 

narrow  stripes  of  yellow.  These,  as  well  as  the  ear-lappets,  are  trimmed  with 
applique  ornaments  cut  out  of  fish-skin.  The  elements  of  the  ornament  running 
around  this  cap  are  distorted  cocks,  arranged  in  pairs  around  trefoils  in  the  lower 
row,  and  in  double  pairs  attached  to  the  upper  and  lower  points  of  a  quaclrifo- 
liate  lozenge  in  the  upper  row.  This  case,  together  with  the  two  preceding  ones, 
proves  that  fish-skin  is  sometimes  used  merely  as  decorative  material. 

On  Plates  xxix  and  xxx  we  have  eight  representations  of  decorated 
fish-skin  garments,  which  are  worn  exclusively  by  women.  The  ornaments  are 
cut  out  of  pieces  of  fish-skin,  and  are  generally  colored  blue  ;  they  are  then 
sewed  with  fish-skin  thread  to  a  piece  of  fish-skin  of  a  shape  adapted  to  the  size 
and  form  of  the  ornament.  A  great  number  of  such  single  patterns  are  then 
symmetrically  put  together  on  the  garment  itself.  A  different  method  is 
employed  only  on  the  garment  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxix.  Here  we  have  three 
layers  of  fish-skin,  the  undermost  representing  the  skin  of  the  garment  proper  ; 
the  uppermost  showing  the  ornaments  in  their  cut-out  forms.  Between  these 
two  layers  is  inserted  a  middle  layer,  which  serves  as  a  background  to  the 
ornament  proper,  throwing  out  distinctly  the  negative  parts  as  well  as  the  outline 
of  the  ornament.  It  extends  a  little  beyond  the  edges  of  the  uppermost  layer, 
which  is  sewed  to  this  one.  The  middle  layer  is  dyed  partly  light  red,  partly 
blue,  so  that  the  edges  of  the  negative  parts  of  the  ornaments  appear  in  these 
colors,  setting  off  the  monotonous  color  of  the  underlying  plain  fish-skin.  There 
are  three  neat  naturalistic  perching  cocks  (a)  with  trisulcate  tails  and  open  beaks. 
Very  curious  are  the  downward-stretched  cock-heads  in  b,  alternating  in  the 
intervening  figures  with  triskeles  corresponding  to  them.  If  the  eye  were 
marked  in  the  latter,  they  could  hardly  be  distinguished  from  these  realistic 
heads.  The  constituents  of  the  long-extended  figures  marked  c  may  be  ana 
lyzed  in  a  similar  way.  There  is  an  embroidery  on  the  collar  of  this  garment 
showing  various  two-lobed  leaves  and  a  trefoil  surrounded  by  the  outlines  of 
a  heart. 

Nearly  all  forms  of  cock  and  fish  ornaments  are  represented  on  the  following 
specimens.  We  observe  the  cock  with  wings  outstretched,  in  a  of  Fig.  2,  Plate 
xxix,  probably  perched  on  an  ornamentally  devised  tree,  and  crowing,  for  its 
beak  is  open.  Its  body  is  shaped  like  a  fish,  the  head  of  which,  formed  by  a 
circle,  lies  in  the  back  part ;  and  another  fish,  enclosing  a  large  dot,  is  marked 
off  in  this  same  body.  The  cock  placed  sideways  (<£)  is  similarly  formed.  It  is 
likewise  crowing  ;  but  tail-feathers  and  wing-feathers  are  represented  by  only 
three  curved  lines,  whereas  the  former  (a)  shows  four  parallel  curves  for  the  tail, 
and  even  six  for  the  wing.  Inside  of  the  fish-formed  body  b  the  head  of  the  fish 
is  marked  by  a  scroll  and  a  circle  similar  to  that  in  a  above  it.  The  cock  on  the 
border  to  the  left  side  (f)  has  undergone  some  further  alterations,  because  the 
artist  was  obliged  to  adapt  its  shape  to  the  double  circular  lines  which  enclose  it. 
It  shows  a  wattle  under  its  throat,  and  has  a  fish-body.  Its  pinion  is  formed  by  a 


68  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

composition  of  two  adjoining  beaks,  at  the  end  of  which  is  a  two-lobed  leaf.  The 
form  of  the  tail  deviates  from  all  other  hitherto  known  forms,  and  is  merely  the 
product  of  a  purely  ornamental  assimilation  to  the  given  space.  The  pattern 
d  deals  in  a  striking  way  with  the  subject  of  the  two  combatant  cocks.  The 
heads  are  distorted,  and  have  shrunk  into  scrolls,  including  the  circles  attached  to 
them.  The  wing-feathers  placed  under  the  heads  are  symbolized  by  spirals,  each 
with  a  lateral  process  ;  i.  e.,  the  spiral-triskeles  ;  but  the  symbolic  expression  of 
the  tails  claims  an  undue  amount  of  space,  quite  out  of  proportion  to  that  occu 
pied  by  the  parts  just  described.  Four  exaggeratedly  long  tail-feathers  are  indi 
cated  on  either  side,  the  space  between  them  being  filled  with  a  pair  of  united 
triskeles,  and  under  them  a  hook-formed  figure.  In  the  interior  of  the  figure 
suggestive  of  an  ornamental  tree,  below  the  cock  a,  we  observe  two  realistic  fishes 
(e),  whose  eyes  and  gills  are  characterized  in  the  usual  way  ;  on  their  bodies 
is  a  conventionalized  bipartite  fish,  the  tail  extending  out  into  a  compound 
triskeles,  one  of  the  arms  of  which  is  continued  into  a  scroll.  The  figure  which 
separates  these  fishes  contains  in  its  negative  parts  two  upright  bipartite  fishes, 
which  occur  also  on  the  sides  of  the  design  f  in  the  familiar  R-form.  In  the 
middle  of_/"are  two  naturalistic  fishes  rampant,  without  any  spirals  on  their  bodies, 
but  marked  with  two  parallel  ventral  fins.  The  R-formed  fishes  are  also  to 
be  found  under  the  two  facing  triskeles  marked^;  In  //  two  triskeles  are  con 
ceived  of  as  two  combatant  cocks,  chiefly  characterized  by  the  two  combined 
circles,  one  of  them  being  held  by  each.  The  large  figures  marked  i  are  com 
pound,  rather  complicated,  ornamental  arrangements,  which  are  built  up  of 
spirals,  trigrams,  leaves,  and  conventionalized  fishes,  and  elements  of  the  cock- 
ornaments. 

The  garment  represented  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  xxix,  in  general  resembles  very 
much  that  in  the  preceding  figure.  There  is  a  perching  cock  (a)  with  open  beak 
and  trichotomous  wing  and  tail  feathers.  At  the  end  of  the  fish-shaped  body  is 
a  spiral,  and  on  the  under  outline  a  small  solid  circle.  The  enclosed  cock  (b)  with 
fish-body  and  oddly  ornamental  tail  tallies  exactly  with  the  bird  in  c,  Fig.  2. 
There  are  two  inverted  fish-cocks  in  c,  a  pair  of  fish-spirals  in  d.  A  very  graceful 
group  of  four  fishes  is  placed  in  the  form  of  a  spiral  around  a  quadrifoil  (e). 
Inside  of  f  lie  two  fishes  united  in  a  horizontal  position  over  a  pair  of  facing 
spirals,  the  upper  outline  of  the  fishes  forming  a  brace.  In  g\  fishes  of  the  same 
type  are  situated  under  the  spirals  ;  further,  in  the  upper  part  are  two  opposite 
fishes  rampant.  Here  as  well  as  in  h  occur  two-lobed  leaves.  There  are  two  con 
ventionalized  lateral  cocks  in  the  design  h.  i  should  be  compared  with  d  in  the 
preceding  figure.  The  tail  and  wing  feathers  are  ornamentally  fashioned  by  the 
aid  of  spirals,  triskeles,  and  leaves. 

Whereas  the  ornamentation  of  the  garments  in  Figs.  2  and  3,  Plate  xxix, 
is  based  on  two  horizontal  rows,  that  of  Fig.  4  of  the  same  plate  is  composed  of 
three  rows.  The  cock  a  holds  a  distinctly  marked  fish  in  its  beak  ;  furthermore, 
a  conventionalized  fish  is  designed  on  its  body,  and  another  added  to  one  division 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF    THE    AMUR    TRIBES.  69 

of  its  comb.  To  the  spiral  forming  the  pinion  is  attached  a  cock's  beak  turned 
to  the  right,  with  a  circle  below  it.  In  the  second  row  is  the  representation  of 
another  erect  realistic  cock  (fr)  with  bent  beak  and  bipartite  tail.  In  the  two 
figures  c  we  note  a  conventionalized  tree,  on  the  two  side-branches  of  which  two 
cocks  are  perching.  Of  very  peculiar  shape  are  the  cock-fishes  d.  Their  heads 
and  bodies  have  fish  shapes  ;  they  terminate,  however,  in  a  three-lobetl  cock-tail. 
Their  heads  are  turned  away  from  each  other.  There  are  spiral  fishes  to  be  met 
with  in  c,  f,  and^.  k  is  a  musk-deer  with  fish-body  ;  its  hind-leg  is  a  cock's  beak 
with  the  oval.  In  /  are  represented  two  cocks  with  their  heads  turned  downward, 
which  bear,  strange  to  say,  triskeles-formed  fishes  on  their  heads,  and  have,  be 
sides,  fish-shaped  bodies.  The  fish-heads  in  which  they  end  have  two  small 
erect  prongs  of  the  same  form  as  the  ears  of  the  musk-deer.  In  /•  and  /  the 
double  wave-lines  are  made  use  of  as  supports  for  cock-heads,  of  naturalistic  rep 
resentation  in  /(',  of  conventional  form  in  /.  in  and  n  show  the  use  of  the  facing 
spirals,  which  are  joined  in  n  to  fish-bodies  above,  and  on  the  sides  to  conventional 
ized  cocks.  In  o  the  negative  portions  of  the  inner  facing  spirals  are  two  con 
ventionalized  bipartite  fishes  ;  on  either  side  of  them,  and  at  the  bottom  of  this 
figure,  are  two  strongly  conventionalized  cocks  holding  circles  in  their  beaks. 

As  regards  the  ornamentation  on  the  garment  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  xxx,  the 
rather  naturalistic  cock  a  is  represented  with  four-pronged  pinions  and  tail-feathers. 
A  conventionalized  bipartite  fish  is  designed  on  its  body.  Exactly  the  same 
forms  are  shown  in  cock  b,  placed  sideways,  c,  d,  and  e  illustrate  the  combatant 
cocks  fashioned  as  on  an  escutcheon.  They  are  most  elaborate  in  c.  Here  the 
head  of  the  cock  is  designated  by  a  heavy  dot  surmounted  by  a  semicircle, 
the  beak  being  characterized  by  a  smaller  semicircle.  Attached  over  its  head  is 
a  triskeles-shaped  fish.  The  bodies  of  the  two  cocks  are  united  into  a  heart- 
shaped  figure,  to  which  are  joined  on  either  side  the  strongly  marked,  long  wing- 
feathers.  The  tail  added  under  the  cordate  figure  is  treated  as  an  independent 
ornamental  element,  in  which,  properly  speaking,  a  conventionalized  cock  with 
fish-shaped  body,  wing  and  tail  feathers,  is  to  be  recognized,  d  represents  heads 
and  bodies  of  cocks  in  the  form  of  erect  fishes.  Their  gallinaceous  character, 
however,  is  sufficiently  preserved  by  the  four-lobed  tail  and  the  spur  below  it, 
which  latter  they  have  in  common.  In  c  the  heads  have  vanished  ;  the  heart- 
formed  body,  as  in  c,  a  spiral  wing-feather,  and  a  double-toothed  tail-feather,  are 
visible.  In  f  are  two  inverted  conventionalized  fishes  placed  around  facing 
spirals,  just  as  \\\  g :  in  the  latter  case,  however,  the  fish-heads  are  set  with  cock- 
beaks  which  run  parallel  to  the  winding  of  the  spiral.  Of  the  different  repre 
sentations  of  the  fish,  the  following  are  to  be  found  here,  h  contains  two 
confronting  erect  fishes  of  naturalistic  forms,  with  eyes,  gills,  a  design  on  their 
backs,  fins,  and  spiral-formed  tails.  In  i  we  see  two  fishes  projecting  from  the 
sides  in  an  almost  straight  horizontal  direction,  whose  heads  are  set  with  two  off 
shoots  formed  like  cock-feathers.  In  j  the  fishes  arise  likewise  from  the  sides, 
but  the  heads  are  turned  upward,  and  the  bodies  are  coiled  and  have  four  fins. 


70  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

Another  fish  proceeding  from  a  wave-line  is  k.  Here  the  semicircular  hook  on 
the  head,  continuing  the  line  of  the  gill,  is  placed  toward  the  outside.  The  two 
outlines  making  up  the  body  do  not  unite  to  form  the  tail,  but  run  parallel  to 
each  other.  Another  group  of  fishes  is  connected  with  spirals,  as,  for  instance, 
in  /.  They  are  used  as  continuations  of  two  facing  spirals,  together  with  which 
they  are  enclosed  in  a  figure.  In  m  seems  to  occur  a  fish-cock,  as  the  two  hook- 
like  offshoots  from  the  head  of  the  fish  appear  to  show  ;  perhaps  the  same  is  the 
case  in  n.  In  o  the  fish  joining  the  spiral  is  not  completely  drawn,  as  its  outer 
edge  line  remains  parallel  to  the  winding  of  the  spiral.  The  most  conventional 
ized  design  of  all  is/,  the  characteristics  of  which  afford  insufficient  ground  for 
explaining  it  positively  as  fish  or  cock. 

The  cock  a  in  Fig.  2,  Plate  xxx,  is  composed  in  a  striking  way.  It  holds 
a  triskeles-formed  fish  in  its  beak  ;  its  body  is  shaped  like  a  fish.  Its  pinion  is 
represented  as  a  cock-beak  with  a  circle  under  the  throat.  The  tail  consists  of  two 
sections.  The  upper  circular  curve  is  combined  with  two  conventionalized  fishes 
(not  visible  in  the  illustration)  ;  the  lower  part  is  a  cock-beak  holding  a  fish,  both 
so  connected  that  they  enclose  a  small  circle.  In  the  same  way  is  built  up  the  cock 
b,  which  is  placed  sideways.  In  c  a  conventionalized  cock  joins  a  spiral,  d  and 
e  are  designs  constructed  from  single  ingredients  of  the  cock  and  fish  ornaments, 
/shows  in  the  interior  two  confronting  bipartite  fishes  in  an  upright  position  and 
two  bipartite  fishes  proceeding  from  the  scrolls  on  the  outside.  In  g  two  con 
ventionalized  combatant  cocks  unite  in  an  ornamental  device  in  the  pointed  upper 
structure.  The  figure  h  below  is  identical  with  c.  In  i  we  observe  four  coiled 
fishes  grouped  around  a  central  lozenge.  Their  bodies  are  scaled  like  that  of  the 
dragon.  Just  as  here,  so  in/ we  meet  with  two  scaled,  very  realistically  formed 
fishes  in  the  concavities  of  the  wave-line.  At  its  terminus  sits  a  dragon  (/)  with 
open  jaws  and  two  three-clawed  feet.  Its  tail  is  a  fish.  In  form  it  is  like  two 
combined  triskeles. 

The  back  of  the  garment  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  xxx,  is  covered  with  a  series  of 
more  compact  figures.  The  single  ingredients  of  the  same  are  generally  to  be 
traced  back  to  cock-ornaments.  In  a  the  heads  of  the  two  cocks  side  by  side  are 
turned  away  from  each  other,  and  a  circular  object  is  held  in  each  of  their  beaks  ; 
while  in  b  the  beaks  are  turned  toward  each  other,  and  between  them  are  two 
objects,  just  as  in  c,  where  the  tails  are  better  characterized,  d  is  composed  of 
two  pairs  of  superposed  cocks,  the  lower  of  which  are  surrounded  by  border 
lines.  In  the  figures  e,  f,  and  g  the  principle  of  the  four  spirals  grouped  around 
a  lozenge  comes  into  play.  In /two  lateral  cocks  are  added  to  the  under  spirals  ; 
and  underneath,  two  opponent  cocks  with  conventionalized  fishes  in  their  beaks. 
Fig.  //  is  identical  with  d.  An  odder  variation  of  the  fish-cock  is  visible  in  i. 
There  is  here  a  spirally  wound  fish  with  a  bipartite  crest.  It  terminates  in  a 
spiral  tail,  and  has  two  cock  feet  placed  as  if  in  the  act  of  walking  ;  j  is  a  distorted 
cock  in  which  the  principle  of  misplacement  is  conspicuous. 

The  whole  design  of  Fig.  4,  Plate  xxx,  is  built  up  of  vertical  and  horizontal 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist..  Vol.  VII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 


7' 


rows.  On  the  top  is  perched  a  crowing  cock  (a),  with  open  beak  and  a  fish  on 
its  body.  Next  to  this  in  form  come  the  cock  placed  sideways  (<$)  and  one  flying 
(c};  the  latter  surrounded  by  a  line,  its  tail  quadrilobate  and  its  wing-feather 
trisulcate,  whereas  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  a.  Of  fishes,  we  see  four  realistic 
ones  coiled  around  four  spirals  (//)  ;  two  appearing  as  continuations  of  spirals, 
and  each  enclosed  in  an  oval  (e)  ;  the  cock-fishes  with  heads  downward  (y)  ;  and 
the  fishes  adjoining  the  spiral  in^,  consisting  of  one  piece  only.  As  regards  the 
design  seen  in  //,  it  should  be  compared  with  c  (Fig.  i)  and  h  (Fig.  3)  of  this 
plate,  and  especially  with  /  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  xxix. 

AINU  ORNAMENTATION.  —  We  will  now  cast  a  brief  glance  at  the  ornaments 
of  the  Ainu.  This  tribe  still  holds  a  rather  exceptional  position,  due,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  their  isolation  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  Island  of  Saghalin,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  their  indolent,  passive 
character.  Notwithstanding  their  resem 
blance  to  the  neighboring  Gilyak,  many 
an  invention  and  many  an  idea  is  met 
with  which  is  wholly  their  own,  and  is 
not  found  in  any  other  tribe.  Generally 
speaking,  the  subject  of  ornamentation 
among  these  people  is  a  very  intricate 
one,  since  three  blended  elements  must  be 
distinguished,  —  a  special  overwhelming 
Japanese  influence  ;  loans  from  the  neigh 
boring  Amur  tribes  ;  and  perhaps  certain 
dregs  of  their  artistic  ideas,  which  are  to 
be  considered  as  almost  wholly  their  own 
property.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  great 
many  figures  and  patterns  might  receive 
proper  explanation  by  comparing  them 
with  the  art  of  the  Gilyak  and  the  Gold. 

Fig.  24  represents  the  coat  of  an 
Ainu  chief  from  the  east  coast  of  Saghalin. 
It  is  of  home  make,  and  woven  from 
nettle-fibres.  The  edges  are  adorned  with 
dark  blue,  yellow,  medium  blue,  and  dark 
blue  stripes  of  Japanese  cotton,  arranged 
somewhat  like  a  key  pattern.  The  dark  blue  stripes  are  broad  along  the  inner 
side  or  slit  of  the  garment,  and  narrow  along  the  outer  edge  of  the  border.  The 
broad  ones  are  covered  with  a  design  in  embroidery,  as  are  also  the  narrow  ones 
in  the  under  part  of  the  coat.  The  stitch  used  here  is  the  so-called  "  couching- 
stitch."  The  narrow  band  in  the  lower  part  shows  what  is  called  in  our  Goldian 


72  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

ornaments  a  continuous  spur-line.  This  motive,  only  double,  is  employed  likewise 
on  the  other  borders,  and  so  intertwined  that  a  long-extended  oval  figure  is 
produced.  Through  the  middle  of  this  figure  is  a  red  line  forming  a  lozenge  in 
the  centre.  The  ornamentation  across  the  bottom  goes  all  the  way  around. 
This  form  of  decoration  is  the  typical  style  for  all  Ainu  clothing.  On  the  upper 
part  of  the  back  is  a  crest  after  Japanese  fashion,  showing  a  quadrifoil  the  leaves 
of  which  are  cut  out  of  bright  red  cloth,  and  edged  with  purple. 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xxxi,  shows  a  decorated  attachment  for  a  belt.  Two  such 
pieces  are  generally  worn  together,  suspended  from  the  side.  A  trapezoidal 
piece  of  whalebone  is  covered  with  dark  red  cloth,  at  both  sides  with  a  section  of 
black  cloth,  and  the  upper  and  lower  edges  are  set  with  blue  glass  beads  fastened 
in  clusters  of  three.  The  two  ornaments  sewed  on  with  chain-stitching  are 
applied  in  the  same  manner  to  both  sides  of  the  object.  Both  forms  we  have  met 
with  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  Amur  tribes.  The  same  is  applicable  also  to 
the  decoration  on  Fig.  2,  a  bone  implement  for  untying  knots,  which  is  adorned 
with  a  band-ornament  showing,  above  and  below,  two  knots  especially  marked  by 
round  incised  hollows.  Also  here,  as  in  the  related  objects  of  the  Gilyak  pre 
viously  described,  we  see  a  connection  between  the  ornament  and  the  purpose  of 
the  object  on  which  it  occurs. 

In  Fig.  3  of  the  same  plate  is  shown  a  knife-case  inlaid  with  bone,  obtained 
by  Professor  Bickmore  from  the  Island  of  Yezo.  On  the  middle  longitudinal 
bone  there  are  cross-hatched  triangles.  The  other  decorations  are  simple  band- 
ornaments,  the  negative  portions  of  which  are  indicated  either  by  lozenges  or 
by  cross-hachures. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xxxi,  represents  a  knife-case,  from  which  the  handle  of  the 
knife  projects.  It  is  likewise  from  Yezo,  and  was  declared  to  be  an  old  piece. 
The  plant-ornament  on  the  handle,  the  end  of  which  is  cut  off  slanting  like  a 
Gilyak  knife,  is  incised,  likewise  the  flower  on  the  upper  part  of  the  case  ;  but  the 
group  of  leaves  on  the  hatched  part,  like  the  leaves  in  the  form  of  superposed 
semicircles,  stand  out  in  relief.  These  floral  ornaments  manifest,  in  both  style 
and  technique,  an  obvious  Japanese  influence. 

Figs.  5-20,  Plate  xxxi,  represent  small  wooden  sticks  (ikuni  on  Saghalin, 
ikubaskui  on  Yezo)  used  in  ceremonial  drinking-bouts  to  lift  the  mustache  and 
beard  to  prevent  them  from  getting  wet.  The  pieces  represented  in  Figs.  5-9 
were  obtained  by  me  on  Saghalin.  They  are  old  family  heirlooms,  given  away 
by  their  possessors  only  with  reluctance.  The  following  are  explanations  as  to 
the  carvings  on  them.  The  design  on  Fig.  5  is  said  to  represent  a  human  face 
wearing  a  pair  of  spectacles.  Each  of  the  two  glasses  is  indicated  by  two  con 
centric  circles  having  a  round  hole  in  the  middle.  The  connecting-piece  between 
them  is  likewise  cut  through,  forming  a  slit.  The  half-perforated  oval  projecting 
above  the  upper  glass  of  the  spectacles  is  supposed  to  be  an  eye,  while  below  the 
spectacles  two  pairs  of  nostrils  are  represented  in  the  form  of  pointed  arches. 
The  lowest  larger  hole,  the  point  of  which  turns  upward,  indicates  the  outline  of 


Memoirs  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXXI. 


I 


} 


10  Jl 


9 

I 


/ 


Ducorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES.  73 

the  nose.  On  the  specimen,  Fig.  6,  were  three  incised  open-carved  seals,  one 
of  which  is  unfortunately  broken  off :  that  in  the  middle  is  floating  on  the  surface 
of  the  sea,  which  is  symbolized  by  diagonally  cross-hatched  lines  ;  the  other  two 
animals  are  resting  on  shore,  the  beach  being  shown  by  parallel  oblique  lines  on 
either  side,  enclosed  in  segments.  Fig.  7  was  interpreted  as  the  representation 
of  a  landscape.  All  hatched  parts  signify  mountains  ;  the  hatchings  themselves, 
grass  and  wood  ;  and  the  serpentine  lines,  valleys  and  roads.  From  a  merely 
ornamental  point  of  view,  an  irregular  interlacement  of  bands  is  here  presented, 
the  negative  parts  of  which  are  taken  up  with  parallel  lines.  On  the  lower  half 
of  Fig.  8  is  a  netting-needle,  above  it  the  picture  of  a  sturgeon.  Its  head  is 
represented  in  raised  work  in  the  form  of  a  long  rectangle.  The  eye  is  in  the 
middle,  and  the  extended  head  with  jaws  is  reproduced  rather  naturally  in  spite 
of  the  geometric  treatment.  The  body  is  symbolized  by  a  spiral,  adjoining  which 
is  the  tail,  —  a  rather  realistic  design  with  four  rings  and  two  crosses.  Fig.  9 
portrays  two  sledges  driving  over  the  ice,  one  behind  the  other.  The  back  parts 
of  the  sledges  rise  over  the  stick  in  open-work  carving.  In  the  centre  there  is  a 
quadrifoil,  the  upper  outlines  of  which  are  connected  by  means  of  a  band  with 
a  sledge  above  it.  From  the  mere  consideration  of  these  five  mustache-lifters 
it  may  be  seen  that  the  Ainu  have  a  predilection  for  open-work  sculpture,  and 
use  for  representations  the  fauna  of  their  surroundings  and  other  objects  familiar 
to  them.  Moreover,  it  becomes  clear  that  the  forms  are  partially  the  same  as 
with  the  Amur  peoples,  and  that  these  very  same  forms  are  made  to  serve  as  the 
basis  for  a  symbolical  interpretation.  The  explanations  of  these  ikimi  are  of  a 
purely  personal  character,  being  kept  in  the  same  family  and  handed  down 
together  with  the  ceremonial  sticks  ;  so  that  under  certain  circumstances  the  same 
pattern  might  have  different  explanations  in  different  families.  The  pieces  from 
Yezo  (Figs.  10-20),  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  A.  C.  James,  are  given  place  here 
partly  for  comparison  with  those  from  Saghalin,  partly  as  an  incentive  to  further 
research  regarding  the  peculiar  ornamentation  of  these  sticks,  and  in  general  of 
that  of  the  Ainu.  There  is  certainly  no  specimen  among  those  from  Japan  that 
shows  so  realistic  and  characteristic  a  mould  as  ours  from  Saghalin.  Particularly 
Figs,  ii,  13,  15,  16,  17,  and  18  show  a  strongly  geometrical  cast,  owing  to  the 
continuous  repetition  of  the  same  forms;  while  others,  like  Figs.  10,  12,  and  14, 
seem  to  tend  towards  realistic  conventionalizations.  Chain-bands  occur  very 
frequently  on  drinking-sticks.  There  are  two  such  running  side  by  side  in  open 
carving  in  Fig.  19.  On  the  stick,  Fig.  20,  from  the  lower  left  side  proceeds  a 
natural  scion  ;  very  interesting  are  four  trefoils  on  it,  the  forms  of  which  exactly 
agree  with  those  on  our  Amur  ornaments. 

COLORING.  —  As  already  stated,  a  great  number  of  the  decorated  specimens 
are  very  rich,  and  even  extravagant,  in  the  variety  of  their  colors,  which  reaches 
its  climax  in  the  embroideries,  since  here  the  most  beautiful  dyed  Chinese  em 
broidery-silks  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  artist.  These  silks  abound  in  all  imaginable 


74  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES. 

tints  and  shades,  whereas  the  selection  of  the  pigments  for  painting  purposes  is, 
of  course,  not  nearly  so  diverse.  From  the  very  fact  that  the  silks  as  well  as  the 
coloring-matters  are  traded  from  the  Chinese,  we  may  infer  that  also  in  tasteful 
and  artistic  arrangement  of  colors  this  people  has  been  the  instructor  of  the  Amur 
tribes.  This  statement  is  confirmed,  moreover,  by  the  fact  derived  from  actual 
observation,  that  the  more  the  natives  are  in  contact  with  the  Chinese,  the  nearer 
they  dwell  to  a  centre  of  Chinese  culture,  the  more  splendidly  developed  in  beauty 
of  color  are  their  works  ;  while  the  farther  one  recedes  from  that  centre,  the  poorer 
the  color-sense  seems  to  grow,  and  at  last  to  vanish  almost  entirely.  The  choice 
of  colors  is  not  arbitrary,  but  subject  to  certain  rules  of  taste,  although  no  definite 
formulas  can  be  deduced.  It  may  be  asserted  that,  throughout,  to  the  symmetry  of 
the  pattern  corresponds  the  symmetry  of  the  colors.  This  symmetry,  however, 
is  not  so  strictly  observed  that  symmetrical  parts  must  be  adorned  in  all  cases 
with  precisely  identical  colors  :  there  should  be  different  shades  of  the  same 
ground-color,  or  even  sometimes  contrasting  hues.  There  may  also  be  the  same 
set  of  colors  in  two  symmetrical  figures,  but  with  a  change  in  the  arrangement. 
The  brilliant  colors  occur  mostly  on  shirt-embroideries  with  white  background  ; 
and  the  duller  hues,  in  their  various  shades,  on  coats  and  other  clothing.  A  bet 
ter  knowledge  of  Chinese  art  will  no  doubt  throw  more  light  also  on  this  most 
attractive  side  of  the  Goldian  works  of  art. 

To  illustrate  the  appearance  and  the  effect  of  the  colors,  five  paintings  have 
been  selected  for  reproduction  here  (Plates  xxxn,  xxxin). 

Fig.  i,  Plate  xxxn,  represents  the  lateral  continuation  of  the  ornament  shown 
in  Fig.  4,  Plate  xxvi.  I  have  already  pointed  out  the  peculiarity  of  the  composi 
tion  of  this  design  ;  here  also  is  shown  an  entirely  new  motive  not  elsewhere  ob 
served  :  in  the  centre  are  two  cocks  (a  and  6),  — a  of  red  color  ;  b,  one  half  red, 
the  other  half  deep  magenta,  or  the  shade  "  American  beauty,"  so  called.  Al 
though  the  two  cocks  correspond  to  each  other  in  their  position,  they  are  not 
constructed  in  symmetrical  agreement,  since  the  whole  composition  narrows  off 
toward  the  side.  The  cock  a  is  therefore  in  erect  vertical,  and  b  in  reclining  hori 
zontal,  attitude,  the  latter  running  out  into  a  long  body,  with  tail  coiled  into  a 
spiral.  The  upper  outline  is  here  also  an  engrailed  line,  which  causes  an  irregu 
lar  lozenge  to  spring  up  in  the  middle  of  the  body.  The  beaks  of  the  two  cocks 
a  and  b  are  curved  downward  and  then  recurved,  and  each  holds  a  conventionalized 
bipartite  yellow  fish,  grasping  it  at  a  point  between  head  and  body.  Between  the 
bodies  of  the  fishes  and  cocks  are  two  greenish  cocks  whose  forms  are  assimilated 
to  those  of  the  adjoining  cocks  above.  That  below  a  is  accordingly  represented 
standing,  and  that  belonging  to  b  in  a  sitting  position.  In  this  way  also  the  ends 
of  the  yellow  fishes  depend  upon  the  forms  of  the  cocks,  and  are  influenced  by 
them  :  the  body  of  the  fish  a  runs  parallel  to  that  of  its  cock,  and  terminates,  like 
that  one,  in  a  broad  plane  ;  whereas  b  tapers  into  a  point  at  the  tail,  like  the  green 
cock  belonging  to  it.  The  red  cock  a  is  joined  by  a  yellow  inverted  cock,  which 
sends  off  farther  below  a  blue-colored  fish.  To  the  left  of  this  one  is  a  magenta 


Memoirs  Am.   Mus.   Nat.   Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXXII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the   Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  75 

cock-head,  whose  beak  seizes  a  green  fish.  There  are  two  fishes  over  the  two 
cocks  a  and  b.  That  above  a  has  the  head  green,  the  body  blue  ;  that  above  b, 
the  head  yellow,  and  the  body  blue.  In  this  case,  consequently,  we  can  speak,  at 
most,  of  a  harmony,  not  of  a  symmetry,  of  colors.  There  is,  for  instance,  the 
cock  c,  green  as  to  neck  and  beak,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  is  yellow.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  opposite  cock  is  green,  and  only  its  upper  tail-feather  of  a  red  hue. 

Fig.  2,  Plate  xxxii,  represents  the  painting  on  the  upper  edge  of  a  boot  made 
of  elk-skin,  the  outside  of  which  is  tanned,  while  inside  the  hair  is  left  on.  The 
decoration  is  painted  on  a  piece  of  salmon-skin  which  is  sewed  to  the  elk-skin.  A 
comparison  of  this  with  the  preceding  specimen  shows  that  fish-skin  is  a  much 
better  substance  for  painting,  and  gives  the  colors  a  brighter  and  more  resplen 
dent  effect.  An  extraordinary  feature  of  this  ornament  is,  that  parts  of  continu 
ous  geometrical  arabesques,  without  stepping  beyond  the  pale  of  their  ornamental 
character,  are  shaped  into  fishes  and  cocks.  Thus  the  spiral  ornament  at  the 
lower  edge  starts  with  a  bird-head  (a)  and  terminates  in  a  fish-head  (b).  Just  so 
a  merely  ornamental  line  (V)  is  treated  as  cock-head  and  beak  holding  an  inverted 
bipartite  lavender-colored  fish.  Around  the  spirals  are  distributed  a  series  of 
conventionalized  cocks,  all  of  which  represent  different  variations  of  the  same 
forms,  that  is,  d,  e,f,  g,  h.  In_/ and^  the  feet  of  the  cocks  are  fashioned  as  two- 
lobed  leaves.  To  the  pure  spiral  ^corresponds  the  spiral j,  the  interior  of  which 
is  formed  like  a  cock.  From  the  lavender-colored  spiral  line  stand  off  conspicu 
ously  the  red  curved  beak  and  the  semicircular  head-line.  Here  is  demonstrated 
one  of  the  reasons  for  the  employment  of  contrasting  colors  to  mark  off  distinctly 
one  part  of  the  body  from  another,  and  thus  bring  it  into  prominence.  Another 
characteristic  feature  appears  in  the  fact  that  the  black  tint  serves  to  mark  the 
wave-line  terminating  in  scrolls,  which  helps  to  analyze  the  composition  into  its 
subdivisions  :  it  affords,  as  it  were,  a  frame  for  miniature  pictures.  To  the  yel 
low  color  is  attributed  merely  a  secondary  significance  :  it  serves  as  a  filling  for 
negative  portions,  mostly  for  narrow  stripes.  Of  paramount  importance  is  the 
color  red,  with  which  the  essential  parts  are  painted  ;  with  it  is  interchanged, 
very  happily  and  tastefully,  a  lavender  color,  which  softens  the  glare  of  the  red 
in  a  most  agreeable  way,  lending  a  restful  and  harmonious  effect  to  the  whole 
composition. 

Fig.  3,  Plate  xxxii,  represents  the  upper  front  edge  of  a  fish-skin  garment 
which  came  originally,  like  the  preceding  specimen,  from  the  Ussuri  River.  As 
regards  the  use  of  the  colors  in  this  ornamentation,  first  of  all,  it  should  be  pointed 
out  that  a  difference  is  made  between  spirals  which  serve  exclusively  for  decora 
tive  purposes  and  those  which  claim,  besides,  a  symbolical  meaning.  The  former 
are  painted  with  black  China  ink  and  surrounded  with  red  lines,  the  latter  with 
red  color  and  black  border-lines.  For  the  representation  of  the  cock,  either  red 
or  blue,  or  both  colors  at  the  same  time,  are  in  use,  while  yellow  is  limited  again 
to  the  filling  of  intervening  spaces  and  stripes.  In  this  way  bipartite  fishes,  some 
of  which  occupy  negative  spaces,  are  better  brought  out. 


76  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  xxxn,  is  a  painting  on  the  upper  edge  of  a  pair  of  leggings 
made  of  fish-skin.  The  picture  is  remarkable  on  account  of  its  peculiar 
coloring,  —  a  light  red  for  the  wave-line  ending  in  scrolls,  which  effects  the 
ornamental  division  ;  an  exquisite  magenta  for  the  conventionalized  cocks  of  the 
type  B  ;  and  a  light  blue  for  the  figures  under  the  wave-line,  which  are  composed 
of  two  united  cocks,  their  heads  being  circles  and  running  out  into  fish-tails  ; 
a  greenish  blue  for  circles,  ovals,  and  united  bird-beaks  in  the  form  of  a  crescent. 
The  background  is  of  a  light  buff  hue ;  lemon-yellow  is  twice  applied  to  the 
circular  objects  of  the  crescent-shaped  cocks  and  for  negative  portions,  twice 
for  the  heads  of  conventionalized  fishes. 

Plate  xxxin  represents  the  back  of  a  woman's  dress  of  fish-skin.  Part  of 
the  front  edge  of  the  same  specimen  was  shown  in  Fig.  3  of  the  foregoing  plate. 
The  whole  surface  is  covered  with  a  magnificent  painting.  The  decoration 
consists  of  three  vertical  rows,  the  two  outer  of  which  tally  and  are  composed  of 
three  single  figures  each,  while  the  middle  series  presents  a  coherent  structure. 
The  ornamental  principle  from  which  these  have  arisen  is  very  simple  :  there 
is  a  pair  of  facing  spirals  in  the  middle,  above  and  below  them  are  two 
erect  conventionalized  bipartite  fishes,  and  the  whole  is  surrounded  by  a  line 
corresponding  to  their  forms.  Whereas  this  figure  remains  constantly  the  same, 
the  appendages  on  its  sides,  components  of  the  cock-ornament,  vary.  Not  to 
this  formal  change  is  due  the  special  charm  which  this  design  offers,  but  rather 
to  the  harmonious  variation  of  its  colors,  especially'of  red,  blue,  and  black. 

SOME  GENERAL  RESULTS.  —  If  we  cast  a  retrospective  glance  at  the 
decorative  art  of  the  Amur  tribes,  we  are  struck  most  forcibly  by  the 
predominance  of  the  cock  and  the  fish,  the  manifold  combinations  in  which 
these  two  motives  appear,  and  the  strange  mingling  of  the  two.  These  two 
inventions  stamp  the  character  of  the  whole  ornamentation.  If  we  ask  for  the 
reason,  no  other  explanation  can  be  found  than  that  these  particular  animals 
have  an  extremely  ornamental  character  because  of  the  great  permutations  of 
their  graceful  motions,  and  thus  lend  themselves  admirably  to  the  spirit  which 
strives  after  beauty  of  form.  The  reason,  then,  lies  in  their  unquestionable 
availability  for  the  ornamental.  It  is  to  their  gracefulness  and  beauty  of  form 
that  the  cock  and  fish  owe  their  popularity  among  artists,  here  as  well  as  in  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  pictorial  arts.  The  part  which  the  cock  plays  in  the 
mythology  and  household  economy  of  the  Chinese  is  not  so  important  as  to 
justify  so  abundant  a  use  of  it  in  ornature.  Since,  besides,  in  the  life  of  the 
Amur  tribes  it  plays  no  part  whatever,  the  mere  artistic  reason  of  its  adaptability 
has  decided  its  use.  That  such  is  exclusively  the  case  is  seen  from  all  the  various 
positions  of  fish  and  cock  which  are  suggested  solely  by  the  tendency  to  create 
new  and  aesthetically  effective  forms.  This  strongly  developed  form-perception 
prevents  the  production  of  realistic  representations,  —  which  exist  without 
doubt  in  embryo,  and  in  early  times  existed  perhaps  to  a  much  greater  extent, — 


Memoirs  Am.    Mus.   Nat.   Hist.,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXXIII. 


Decorative  Art  of  the  Amur  Tribes. 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  77 

as  shown  in  the  designs  of  numerous  animals,  none  of  which  have  endured  in 
their  natural  forms,  but  rather  have  deteriorated  into  a  style  of  conventionality 
adapted  to  the  cock  and  fish  ornaments,  as  the  musk-deer,  the  dragon,  and  so  on. 
It  would  almost  seem  that  other  groups  of  animals  gain  favor  and  meet  with 
approval,  only  so  far  as  they  are  capable  of  conforming  to  the  cock  and  fish 
pattern.  In  these  last-mentioned  figures  we  recognize  at  the  same  time  stages, 
second  in  point  of  time,  which  probably  arose  after  the  development  of  the 
first-described  ornaments. 

If  we  now  take  into  consideration  the  evolution  of  the  cock  and  fish 
ornaments,  we  are  impressed  first  by  the  fact  that  such  differing  and  numerous 
stages  of  development  are  met  with,  frequently  even  in  the  same  design  ;  so  that 
the  development  appears  almost  to  be  based  on  a  juxtaposition  in  space  rather 
than  on  a  succession  in  time.  In  other  words,  the  question  arises,  Are  we 
correct  in  supposing  a  definite  scale  of  gradation  in  the  stages  of  development, 
from  the  cock  and  fish  true  to  nature,  down  to  the  hardly  recognizable 
conventional  patterns  ?  The  whole  series  of  forms  does  undeniably  occur. 
These,  however,  should  under  no  circumstances  be  regarded  as  of  chronological 
sequence  ;  for  it  is  by  no  means  true  that  the  natural  picture  of  the  cock  or  fish 
is  sunk  in  oblivion,  and  that  the  conventional  form  has  exclusively  taken  its 
place.  On  the  contrary,  we  see  that  the  single  phases  of  development  are 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  various  forms  of  different  kinds  of  adaptation  to 
certain  spaces  or  given  geometrical  forms,  mostly  spiral.  This  process  of 
adaptation,  constantly  repeating  itself  in  multitudinous  ways,  has  created  a  large 
number  of  varieties,  all  co-existing  side  by  side,  like  the  varieties  of  a  zoological 
species.  One  does  not  exclude  the  other,  but  each  retains  its  separate  existence, 
because  art  indulges  in  a  wealth  of  forms,  and  requires  an  abundance  of  varieties 
for  building  up  large  ornamental  compositions. 

The  strong  inward  impulse  to  create  new  forms  is  the  primary  underlying 
cause  for  the  rise  of  the  various  degrees  of  conventionalization.  Moreover,  it  is 
a  further  incentive  to  the  simultaneous  retention  of  all  these  manifold  forms,  a 
great  number  of  which,  without  the  influence  of  this  law,  would  have  perished. 
The  form-character  of  this  ornamentation  had  therefore  a  conservative  effect,  and 
is  consequently  responsible  for  its  offspring.  In  spite  of  this  form-character, 
however,  conventionality  is  by  no  means  a  production  of  a  purely  rationalistic 
method  of  speculation.  It  should  not  be  imagined  that  the  creations  of  animal 
life  continued  to  lose  more  and  more  of  their  original  forms,  and  gradually  shrunk 
into  geometrical  devices.  On  the  contrary,  the  multifarious  kinds  of  convention 
alization  have  their  final  cause,  last  but  not  least,  in  a  faithful  observation  of 
nature,  especially  in  the  ability  to  watch  motions,  so  highly  developed  in  the  East 
Asiatic  mind.  The  conception  of  a  fish  in  the  form  of  a  spiral  is  based  on  a  true 
observation  of  that  animal  in  its  natural  state  ;  it  would  never  have  been  drawn 
in  spiral  form,  never  have  clung  to  a  spiral,  without  a  foundation  of  fact.  This 
very  capacity  of  the  fish  for  motion,  together  with  the  highly  cultivated  power  of 


78  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

the  people  to  observe  its  motions,  formed  the  reason  for  its  adoption  in  ornamenta 
tion.  The  same  remark  holds  good  for  the  cock.  Here  we  have,  perhaps,  not  a 
primitive  form  from  which  all  others  have  genetically  originated  ;  rather,  a  long 
series  of  fundamental  forms  exists,  based  on  the  observation  of  the  various 
natural  attitudes  and  motions  of  this  ever-moving  bird.  We  have  distinguished 
a  series  of  types  ;  we  have  found  standing,  reclining,  perching,  and  perfectly  erect 
cocks,  some  with  beaks  turned  downward,  others  with  heads  looking  backward, 
all  types  which  exist  side  by  side,  without  having  developed  one  from  another. 
The  conventionalizations  proper  have  arisen  only  through  the  influence  of  the 
fish-ornament  on  the  cock-type.  This  is  the  same  process  which  was  above 
designated,  in  a  more  general  style,  as  an  assimilation  to  existing  forms.  Thus 
the  cock,  for  instance,  assumes  a  fish-body  to  get  a  spiral  form  more  suitable  for 
the  entire  ornament ;  or  its  tail  is  represented  as  a  fish-tail,  its  pinion  as  a  spiral. 
Finally,  forms  are  even  found  in  which  the  whole  cock  is  composed  of  geometri 
cal  constituents.  These  have  not  been  evolved  from  the  form  of  the  cock,  but 
they  are  the  primary  element,  the  material  from  which  it  is  constructed.  This 
ensues  —  and  here  we  touch  another  important  theoretical  point  regarding  our 
ornaments  —  from  the  diversity  of  function  of  the  geometrical  components.  The 
spiral,  for  instance,  may  symbolically  express  all  possible  things.  It  may  serve 
to  indicate  the  cock's  body,  its  pinion,  its  tail-feather.  It  may  even  perform  two 
or  more  functions.  In  Fig.  i,  Plate  xi,  the  large  curve  of  a  spiral  is,  first,  a 
geometrical  element ;  secondly,  part  of  a  wave-line  serving  to  distinguish  orna 
mental  subdivisions  ;  thirdly,  it  forms  the  upper  outline  for  the  body  of  a  fish 
below,  naturalistically  drawn  ;  fourthly,  it  outlines  the  body  of  a  cock,  the  other 
parts  of  which  are  drawn  above  it.  It  would  be  absurd  to  infer  from  this  that 
the  spiral  is  the  final  result  of  the  gradual  conventionalization  of  such  realistic 
images  :  it  is  rather  a  given  prius,  —  the  origin  of  which  is  of  no  consequence 
here, — which  is  employed  for  the  symbolical  expression  of  the  most  varied  things, 
since  its  forms  are  so  convenient  for  this  particular  purpose.  Another  example 
is  offered  in  the  brace,  signifying  the  cock-spur ;  this  symbol  indicates  also  the 
feet  of  the  musk-deer  (Fig.  5,  Plate  xiv),  the  feet  of  the  dragon  (Fig.  133, 
Plate  xvi),  and  even  the  scales  on  the  dragon's  body  (Fig.  5,  Plate  xn).  If  a 
conventionalized  fish  appears  in  place  of  the  body  of  a  cock  or  even  of  a  musk- 
deer,  or  if  it  even  serves  to  indicate  the  horn  of  a  dragon,  no  one,  perhaps,  will 
conclude  from  this  fact  that  the  conventionalized  fish  has  resulted  from  the  cock 
or  deer  body,  but  only  that  this  particular  form  is  used  as  the  means  to  an  end, 
as  an  easy  expedient  for  ornamental  symbolism  of  the  parts  of  the  bodies  of  other 
animals. 

From  this  proof  proceeds  another  very  important  and  far-reaching  conclusion 
as  regards  the  triskeles.  This  also  is  a  given  factum  used  as  a  foundation  upon 
which  to  build  other  ornaments.  The  supposition  that  the  triskeles  has  devel 
oped  from  the  outlines  of  the  cock  does  not  prove  true  at  all  for  the  tribes  of  the 
Amur.  In  no  case  is  the  cock  represented  as  a  purely  geometrical  triskeles.  In 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE   AMUR   TRIBES.  79 

a  few  cases,  as  for  instance  on  the  spears  and  bows,  where  the  cock  has  a  triskeles- 
like  appearance,  it  is  always  determined,  first  of  all,  by  the  added  circle  ;  secondly, 
the  single  arms  of  it  are  shaped  in  such  a  way  that  they  admit  of  recognizing,  in 
truth,  the  forms  of  the  bird.  We  may  clearly  distinguish  also,  in  these  cases, 
beak,  body,  and  feet.  In  the  formation  of  the  cocks  and  fishes  the  triskeles  plays 
an  active  rdle  for  indicating  single  parts  of  the  body,  but  not  the  whole  creature, 
and  so  its  functions  are  extensive.  It  sometimes  interchanges  with  the  spiral. 
It  symbolizes  the  pinions  of  the  cock,  sometimes  the  fish-tail,  sometimes  the  fish 
itself  held  in  the  cock's  beak  ;  in  fact,  even  the  horn  of  the  musk-deer  and  the 
dragon's  whiskers.  As  an  independent  element,  having  a  definite  meaning,  how 
ever,  the  triskeles  never  occurs.  It  is  rather  a  secondary  expedient  of  multifari 
ous  significations,  which,  however,  by  no  means  appears  as  a  resultant  from  the 
phases  of  the  cock  itself.  This  fact  of  the  multiplicity  of  the  functions  of  geo 
metrical  formations  confirms  again  the  thorough  form-character  of  this  decorative 
art,  which  sacrifices  everything  to  the  beauty  of  lines  and  forms. 

The  question  may  arise  as  to  whether  people  like  the  Gold,  who  are  able  to 
produce  such  fine  work,  may  justly  be  classified  among  primitive  tribes.  The 
Gold,  at  all  events,  are  promising,  and  some  time  or  other  will  undeniably  advance 
to  the  rank  of  a  civilized  nation,  like  their  ancestral  relations  the  Niiichi  and 
Manchu,  but  under  more  peaceable  circumstances,  relying  on  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil,  industry,  and  fine  arts.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  they  are  chosen  for 
their  share  in  civilization,  and  that  they  will  have  a  future,  if  only  the  Russian 
Government  will  continue  to  lend  its  assistance  in  improving  the  economic  life- 
conditions  of  this  intelligent  tribe,  which  numbers  so  many  good-natured  and 
highly  gifted  individuals. 


LIST  OF   PLATES. 
PLATE  I.     (See  p.  4.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Embroidery  on  Sleeping-Mat.    Tribe,  Gold.     Extreme  length,  119  cm.    Cat.  No.  -Jfo. 
Fig.     2.  —  Carving  on  the  Top  of  a  Tea-Table.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  42  cm.     (Museum  fiir 

Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I A   1274.) 
Fig.    3.  —  Neckerchief.     Tribe,  Gold.     Diagonal,  84.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  g>£g. 

PLATE  II.     (See  pp.  9-11.) 

Figs.  i-n.  —  Carved  Wooden  Spoons,  for  use  at  Bear-Festival.     Tribe,  Gilyak.      About  f  nat. 

size.     Cat.  Nos.  -gV'o,  TH*,  rlh,  T?*r,  W*,  T!T!T,  *YV,  *VV,  Tf K,  T**J,  T?fr- 
Fig.  12.  —  Decorated  Handle  of  Fish-Ladle.      Tribe,  Gold.     About  f  nat.  size.     Cat.  No. -j^V- 
Pig.  13.  —  Decorated  Handle  of  Spoon  for  Eating.     Tribe,   Gold.      About  f  nat.  size.     Cat. 

No.  T1\"T. 
Fig.  14.  —  Pair  of  Chopsticks.     Tribe,  Gilyak.      About  f  nat.  size.     Cat.  No.  TT£r. 

PLATE  III.     (See  pp.  11-13.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Eye-Protector.     Tribe,  Gilyak.      Length,  18  cm.      Cat.  No.  S75°7. 
Fig.     2.  —  Painting  on  Fish-skin  Leggings.    Tribe,  Gold.    Greatest  width,  15  cm.    Cat.  No.  3^. 
Fig.    3. — Round  Wooden  Box.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Depth,  21  cm.     Cat.  No.  •Jfo- 
Fig.    4. — Cover  of  Tobacco- Box.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length,  47  cm.     Cat.  No. -g^ff- 
Fig.    5. — Woman's  Knife.     Tribe,  Gold.     Greatest  length  of  handle,  14.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  -pYs- 
Fig.    6.  —  Fish-Scraper  made  of  Elk-Bone.     Tribe,  Gold.    Length,  21.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  -J^T- 
Fig.     7.  —  Board  for  cutting  Fish  on.     Tribe,  Gold.    Length,  61.5  cm.    Cat.  No.  ^Ys- 
Figs.  8-10.  • — Metal  Attachments  to  a  Shaman's  Dress.     Tribe,  Yakut.     f  nat.  size.    (Museum 
fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat.  Nos.  IA  2818,  2351,  2350.) 

PLATE  IV.     (See  pp.  13-15.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Reel.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length  of  upper  arm,  30  cm.     Cat.  No.  TTf^. 

Fig.     2.  —  Awl  made  of  Elk-Bone.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  17011.     Cat.  No. -j^. 

Fig.    3. —  Bone  Buckle.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Cat.  No.  ^'f- 

Figs.  4,  5,  6.  —  Carved   Ends  of  Wooden   Dishes.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length  of  end,  21.5  cm., 

24.3  cm.,  24.5  cm.     Cat.  Nos.  rj^,  T]fr,  r]Jr. 

Fig.     7.  —  Wooden  Dish.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length,  51  cm.     Cat.  No.  -jW- 
Figs.  8,  8a. — Wooden  Box  and  Cover.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Depth  of  box,  4.5  cm.;  cover,  14  cm. 

square.     Cat.  No.  -g^T- 
Figs.  9,  ga.  —  Wooden  Box  and  Cover.     Tribe,  Gilyak  (Saghalin).     Depth  of  box,   S.i    cm.; 

extreme  length  of  cover,  21  cm.     Cat.  No.  i|§^. 

PLATE  V.     (See  p.  15.) 

Fig.  i.  —  Wooden  Dish.  Tribe,  Gilyak.  Extreme  length,  55.5  cm.  Cat.  No.  -gfe. 
Fig.  2.  —  Cover  of  Tobacco- Box.  Tribe,  Gilyak.  Length,  47  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^yT. 
Figs.  3,  4,  5.  —  Drills.  Tribe,  Gilyak.  Length,  35  cm.,  31.5  cm.,  29.8  cm.  Cat.  Nos.  -$*$, 

70         70 
182")  "88  f- 

[80] 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART   OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  8 1 

PLATE  VI.     (See  pp.  20,  21.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Cock  cut  out  of  Paper.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  14  cm.     Cat.  No.  Jfa  o. 

Fig.     2.  —  Embroidered  Cock.     Tribe,  Gold.    1  nat.  size.     (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  IA  1387  £) 
Fig.    3.  —  Chinese   or   Japanese   (?)   Weaving-Pattern.     About  4   nat.    size.     (Kunstgewerbe 

Museum,  Berlin.      Cat.  No.  94,263.) 
Fig.    4.  —  Birch-bark    Hat.      Tribe,   Gold.       (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde,   Berlin.     Cat.    No. 

IA  386.) 

PLATE  VII.     (See  pp.  21-23.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Side  of  a  Birch-bark  Basket.    Tribe,  Gold.    (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.    Cat. 

No.  IA  1204.) 

Figs.  2,  3.  —  Bear-Spears.      Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length,  41.5  cm.,  47  cm.     Cat.  Nos.  TJJ¥T>  WV- 
Fig.    4. —  Embroidery  made  of  Reindeer-Hair.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  IA  1824.) 
Fig.    5. —  Painting  across  Top  of  Elk-skin  Boots.     Tribe,  Orochon  (Ussuri).    Depth,  14.5  cm. 

Cat.  No.  -J5VY- 
Fig.    6.  —  Paper  Pattern   for  embroidering  Woman's  Shoe.      Tribe,  Gold.      Height,    n   cm. 

Cat.   No.  -ffsg. 
Fig.    7.  —  Paper  Pattern  for  embroidering  Gloves.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  33  cm.    Cat.  No. 

iVs  b. 

PLATE  VIII.     (See  pp.  23-25.) 

Fig.  i.  —  Silk-embroidered  Ornament  for  a  Shirt.  Tribe,  Gold.  Height,  17  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^\\  d. 
Fig.  2.  —  Silk-embroidered  Ornament  for  a  Shirt.  Tribe,  Gold.  Height,  i6cm.  Cat.  No.  -5%  />• 
Fig.  3.  —  Chinese  Weaving- Pattern,  igth  Century.  ^  nat.  size.  (Kunstgewerbe  Museum, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  83,1758.) 
Figs.  4,  5.  —  Oriental  Weaving-Patterns,  1 7th-i 8th  Centuries  (?).   \   nat.   size.    (Kunstgewerbe 

Museum,  Berlin.     Cat.  Nos.  76,101)0,    76,1085.) 

PLATE  IX.     (See  pp.  25-27.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Birch-bark  Pattern  for  embroidering  a  Pocket.    Tribe,  Gilyak.     J  nat.  size.    (Museum 

fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat.  No.  IA  1781  b.) 

Fig.     2.  —  Birch-bark  Hat.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Diameter,  38  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^Vj- 
Fig.    3.  —  Painting  on   Boy's  Fish-skin  Leggings.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height  of  painting,  14  cm. 

Cat.  No.  -ff,a. 
Fig.    4.  —  Birch-bark  Embroidery-Pattern  for  an  Ear-Lappet.    Tribe,  Gilyak.     Height,  12  cm. 

Cat.  No.  5\V/- 

Fig.    5.  —  Woman's  Boot.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length  of  foot,  27  cm.     Cat.  No.  Tiao- 
Fig.    6.  —  Knife-Case.     Tribe,  Gilyak.     Length,  25  cm.     Cat.  No.  j^-g. 
Fig.    7.  —  Ancient  Japanese  Weaving-Pattern.     £  nat.   size.      (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  84,825.) 

PLATE  X.     (See  pp.  27-29.) 

Fig.    i.  —  Side  of  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.     ^  nat.  size.     (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde, 
Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I A  1217.) 


82  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

Fig.     2.  —  Painting  across  Top  of  Fish-skin   Leggings.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width,   10  cm.     Cat. 

No-rffra. 

Fig.  3.  — Embroidery  on  Silk  Leggings.  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  23  cm.  Cat.  No.  -ffe. 
Fig.  4.  — Embroidery  on  a  Velvet  Girdle.  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  8  cm.  Cat.  No.  -jW- 
Fig.  5.  — Side  of  a  Birch-bark  Box.  Tribe,  Gold.  £  nat.  size.  (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  IA  1724.) 
Fig.    6.  —  Side  of  a  Birch-bark  Box.     Tribe,  Gold.     J  nat.  size.     (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I A  1211.) 

PLATE  XI.     (See  pp.  29-33.) 

Figs,    i,  la.  —  Long  and  Short  Sides  of  a  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  11.5  cm. 

Cat.  No.  ff,. 
Figs.  2,  2a.  —  Design  on  the  Rim  of   the  Cover  of   a  Tobacco-Box.    Tribe,  Gold.     Height, 

4.7  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^W- 

Fig.    3.  —  Paper  Pattern  for  embroidering  Bag  for  Strike-a-light.     Tribe,  Gold. 
Fig.    4.  —  Paper  Pattern  for  decorating  Newspaper-Holder.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length  of  base,  48 

cm.     Cat.  No.  ^jV 
Fig.     5.  —  Embroidery- Pattern  for  a  Shirt-Pocket.    Tribe,  Gold.     Length  of  base,  22  cm.    Cat. 

No.  ff,  d. 

Fig.    6.  — Embroidered  Collar.     Tribe,  Gold.     Diameter,  38.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^  «. 
Fig.    7.  —  Embroidery  on  a  Wrister.    Tribe,  Gold.    Length,  21  cm.    Cat.  No.  {fg  a. 

PLATE  XII.     (See  pp.  33,  34,  37,  38-) 

Fig.  i.  —  Design   on  the   Inside  of   a  Birch-bark  Basket.      Tribe,    Gold.      Height,    17    cm. 

(Museum  fur  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I A  1571.) 

Fig.  2.  —  Embroidered  Border.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width,  6  cm.     Cat.  No.  T\"T  n- 

Fig.  3.  —  Embroidered  Border.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width,  7  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^''i  b. 

Fig.  4.  —  Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width,  20  cm.     Cat.  No.  7\°s  a- 

Fig.  5.  —  Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height,  12.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  T"W  e. 

Fig.  6.  —  Painting  on  Leggings.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width,  10.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  773°J  a- 

PLATE  XIII.    (See  pp.  38-41.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Cover  of  a  Tobacco-Box.    Tribe,  Gold.    Length,  20  cm.    (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I A   1786.) 
Fig.    2.  —  Half  of  Cover  of  Tobacco-Box.     Tribe,   Gold.     Extreme  length,  50.5  cm.     Cat. 

No.  ?%. 
Fig.    3.  —  Ancient  Chinese  Weaving-Pattern.     ^  nat.   size.     (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  69,165.) 
Fig,    4.  —  Ancient  Chinese   Weaving-Pattern.     \  nat.  size.      (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  81,690.) 

PLATE  XIV.     (See  pp.  41-43.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Japanese  Weaving-Pattern,  iSthand  igth  centuries.    (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  79,46.) 

Fig.    2.  — Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold.      Height,  6.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^Vs/- 
Fig.    3.  — Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height,  17  cm.     Cat.  No.  ffa  *'• 


LAUFER,  THE    DKCORAT1VE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  83 

Fig.  4.  —  Paper  Pattern.  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  36  cm.  Cat.  No.  ffYs  //. 
Fig.  5.  —  Paper  Pattern.  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  33  cm.  Cat.  No.  5%  ''• 
Fig.  6.  —  Paper  Pattern.  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  33  cm.  Cat.  No.  ^"3  c. 

PLATE  XV.     (See  pp.  47,  48.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Carved  Dish.     Tribe,  Gold.     Extreme  length,  40.5  cm.    (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I A    1231.) 
Fig.     2. —  Box-Cover.     Tribe,    Gold.     Height,    15    cm.     (Museum   fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  I A  1269.) 

F'ig.    3.  —  Embroidery  on  a  Tobacco- Pouch.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  23  cm.     Cat.  No.  jffi. 
Fig.    4.  —  Embroidered     Border    for    Wristband.      Tribe,    Gold.      Height,    10.3    cm.     Cat. 

No.  /,-V  a. 

Fig.    5. —  Embroidered  Girdle.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  64  cm.     Cat.  No.  -fff. 
Fig.    6.  —  Paper  Pattern.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width,  19  cm.     Cat.  No  7V3  «. 

PLATE  XVI.     (See  pp.  48-51.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Embroidered  Collar  and  Front  of  Woman's  Coat.     Tribe,  Gold.     Width  of  pattern, 

6  cm.     Cat.  No.  7\V 
Figs.  2-9. —  Various  Forms  of  Japanese  Tomoye.     (From  a  Japanese  Book.)      Fig.  fc,  basho- 

mitsu-domoye. 
Figs.  10,  ii.  —  Arabesque   Rings.      (From  a  Japanese   Book,   the  same  as  above.)     Fig.    10, 

Karakusawa  ;  Fig.  1 1,  tsuruwarabi. 
Figs.  12,  123,  i2b.  —  Bow  :    a,  Design  on  the  back  ;    b,   Design  on  the  inside.     Tribe,  Gold. 

Bow,  \  nat.  size;  designs,  f  nat.  size.      (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat. 

No.  IA  399.) 
Figs.  13,  133,  i3b.  —  Bow:    a,  Design  on  the   back;    b,    Design  on  the  inside.     Tribe,  Gold. 

Bow,  \  nat.  size;  designs,  about  \  nat.   size.     (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  IA  1401.) 
Figs.  14,  143,  14!).  —  Bow:   a,   Design  on  the  back;   l>,   Design   on  the  inside.     Tribe,  Gold. 

Bow,  ^  nat.  size  ;  designs,  f  nat.  size.     (Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat. 

No.  I A  1400.) 

PLATE  XVII.     (See  pp.  51,  52.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Ancient  Japanese  Weaving-Pattern.     ^  nat.  size.     (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin. 

Cat.  No.  75,922.) 
Fig.     2  — Chinese   Weaving- Pattern.       f    nat.    size.      (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin.      Cat. 

No.  79,2062  a.) 

PLATE  XVIII.     (Seep.  51.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Chinese    Weaving-Pattern.      %    nat.    size.     (Kunstgewerbe    Museum,    Berlin.     Cat. 

No.  85,1741.) 
Fig.    2.  —  Chinese   Weaving- Pattern,      f    nat.    size.      (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin.       Cat. 

No.  83,1742.) 

PLATE  XIX.     (See  pp.  52-54.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tungus  (Anigun).     Diameter,  24  cm.     Cat.  No.  TJf f. 
Figs.  2,  2a.  —  Side  and  Cover  of    Birch-bark   Box.     Tribe,    Gold.     Length,    17.5    cm.     Cat. 
No.  ,VV- 


84 


LAUFRR,  THE    DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE    AMUR    TRIBES. 


Figs.  3,  33.  —  Front   and    Back   of    Birch-bark    Basket.     Tribe,   Gold.     Depth,  20  cm.     Cat. 

No.  AV 
Fig.    4.-  —  Design    on    a   Birch-bark  Tray.     Tribe,   Gilyak.     Length    of   dish,  24.5  cm.     Cat. 

No.  WV- 

PLATE  XX.     (See  pp.  54,  55). 

Fig.     i.  —  Birch-bark    Basket.     Tribe,    Gold.     Length,   34    cm.     (Museum  fur  Volkerkunde, 

Berlin.     Cat.  No.  I  A  1207.) 

Fig.     2.  —  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.      Height,  11  cm.     Cat.  No.  A°T  "• 
Fig.    3.  —  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height,  13  cm.     Cat.  No.  -j^s- 
Fig.    4.  —  Birch-bark  Basket  for  holding  Spoons  and  Chopsticks.    Tribe,  Gold.     Height,  26  cm. 

Cat.  No.  „%- 
Figs.  5,  53.  —  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.      Width  at  base,  15  cm.    (Museum  fur  Volker 

kunde,  Berlin.     Cat.  No.  LA  1572.) 

PLATE  XXI.     (See  pp.  55,  56.) 

Figs,  i,  la.  —  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.     Length  of  base,  15.5  cm.  and  14  cm.  respec 

tively.     (Museum  ftir  Volkerkunde,  Berlin.     Cat.  No.  IA  1572.) 
Fig.     2.  —  Birch-bark  Basket.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height,  21  cm.     Cat.  No.  T^V 
Figs.  3,  33.  —  Birch-bark  Basket  and  Cover.     Tribe,  Tungus  (Ussuri).     Height  of  basket,  19.4 
cm.;  diameter  of  cover,  34  cm.     Cat.  No.  VVV 

PLATE  XXII.     (See  pp.  56,  57.)     Embroideries. 

Fig.     i.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  n  cm.     Cat.  No.  -5%  d- 

Fig.     2.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width  of  embroidered  portion,  n  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^'-s  a. 

Fig.  2a.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width  11.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  Jfa  b. 

Fig.    3.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  19.5.  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^Vs- 

Fig.    4.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  4  cm.     Cat.  No.  -$fac. 

Fig.  4a.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  4.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  Jfod. 

Fig.    5.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  4.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  TV»  '• 

Fig.    6.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Length  of  side,  15  cm.     Cat.  No.  Jfa  c. 

Fig.  6a.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  13  cm.     Cat.  No.  $fad. 

Fig.  6b.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width  of  embroidered  portion,  n  cm. 


Cat.  No. 


PLATE  XXIII.     (See  pp.  57-59.)     Embroidery-Patterns. 


Fig.  i.  — Tribe,  Gold. 

Fig.  2.  —  Tribe,  Gold. 

1*  ig-  3- ' —  Tribe,  Gold. 

Fig.  4.  —  Tribe,  Gold. 

Fig.  43.  —  Tribe,  Gold. 

Fig.  5.  — Tribe,  Gold. 

Fig.  5a.  —  Tribe,  Gold. 

Fig.  sb.  — Tribe,  Gold. 


d. 


Width,  5.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^ 
Width,  5  cm.     Cat.  No.  VVk 
Width,  7  cm.     Cat.  No.  -Jfa 
Diameter,  34  cm.     Cat.  No. 
Width,  10  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^\°j  d. 
Width,  9  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^W  e. 
Width,  1 1  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^VV/ 
Height,  17  cm.     Cat.  No.  v\\I. 


PLATE  XXIV.     (See  pp.  59,  60.) 

Fig.      i.  —  Embroidery.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height,  19.7  cm.     Cat.  No.  TVV e. 
Fig.     2.  —  Embroidery.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height,    16  cm.     (Museum   fur  Volkerkunde,  Berlin. 
Cat.  No.  IA  1759.) 


LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF   THE    AMUR   TRIBES.  85 

Fig.     3.  —  Japanese  Weaving-Pattern.  ^  nat.  size.     (Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin.    Cat.  No. 

81,784.) 

•     Fig.     4.  —  Embroidery.     Tribe,  Gold.  Height,  29  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^fs  a. 

Fig.     5. —  Embroidery.     Tribe,  Gold.  Length,  21  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^Yr  b. 
Fig.     6.  —  Embroidery.      Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  20.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^Yr  fl'- 

PLATE  XXV.     (See  pp.  60,  61.)     Embroideries. 

Fig.  i. — Tribe,  Gold.  Height,  19.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^VV- 

Fig.  2. —  Tribe,  Gold.  Height,  18  cm.     Cat.  No   ^\\  a. 

Fig  3.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Length  of  base,  17  cm.     Cat.  No.  B70(|i  h. 

Fig.  4. —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  5  cm.     Cat.  No.  -gW  c. 

Fig.  5.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Diameter,  20.5  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^§\a. 

Fig.  6. —Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  3.6  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^"r  b. 

Fig.  7.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  10  cm.     Cat.  No. 

Fig.  8. —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  9  cm.     Cat.  No.  J 

Fig.  9.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Height,  9  cm.     Cat.  No. 

Fig.  10.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  9  cm.     Cat.  No. 

Fig.  ii.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Width,  3.5  cm.     Cat.  No. 

PLATE  XXVI.      (See  pp.  61-64.) 

Figs,  i,  la.  —  Embroidered  Mitten.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  J£o- 

Fig.     2.  —  Embroidered  Mitten.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  TY(r- 

Fig.     3.  —  Painted  Elk-skin  Garment.     Tribe,  Tungus  (Ussuri).     Cat.  No.  ^Yr- 

Fig.     4. —  Painting  on  an  Elk-skin  Legging.     Tribe,  Orochon  (Ussuri).    Height,  33  cm.     Cat. 

No.  *%. 
Fig.     5.  —  Embroidery  on  Lower  Part  of  Back  of  a  Garment.     Tribe,  Gold.     Height  of  tree 

design,  35  cm.     Cat.  No.  ^SV 
Fig.     6.  —  Embroidered  Shirt.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  -57S°T. 

PLATE  XXVII.     (See  pp.  64,65.) 

Fig.  i.  —  Embroidered  Shirt.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  -^V 

Fig.  2.  —  Embroidered  Silk  Dress.      Tribe,  Gold.     Length,  92  cm.     Cat.  No.  Ws- 

Fig.  3. —  Embroidered  Coat.     Tribe,  Gold      Length,  iiocm.     Cat.  No.  -Jfc. 

Fig.  4.  —  Embroidered  Dress.     Tribe,  Gold.      Length,  86  cm.     Cat.  No.  -Jfc- 

PLATE  XXVIII.     (See  pp.  65-67.) 

Fig.     i. — Woman's  Silk-embroidered  Coat.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  ^"T- 

Fig.     2.  —  Tobacco-Pouch.    Tribe,  Tungus  (Amgun  River).     Length,  28  cm.     Cat.  No.  yjfff- 

Fig.     3. —  Design  on  Fish-skin  Apron.    Tribe,  Tungus  (Amgun  River).    Height,  48cm.    Cat. 

No.  rBr. 
Fig.     4.  —  Hunter's  Cap.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  ^Yz- 

PLATE  XXIX.     (See  pp.  67-69.)     Fish-skin  Coats. 

Fig.  i.  —  Tribe,  Tungus  (Ussuri  River).     Cat.  No.  7Vr- 

Fig.  2.  — Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  -5%- 

Fig.  3.  —  Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  -^<I. 

Fig.  4.  —  Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  -jYtf- 


86  LAUFER,  THE    DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    AMUR   TRIBES. 

PLATE  XXX.     (See  pp.  69-71.)     Fish-skin  Coats. 

Fig.  i.  —  Cat.  No.  if. 

Fig.  2.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Cat.  No.  ^'V- 

F«g-  -3-  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Cat.  No.  Tyg. 

Fig.  4.  —  Tribe,  Gold.  Cat.  No.  ¥\\- 

PLATE  XXXI.     (See  pp.  72,  73  ) 

Fig.      i.  —  Girdle  Attachment.     Tribe,  Ainu  (Saghalin).     Cat.  No.  n7,"4. 

Fig.     2.  —  Bone    Implement   for   Untying   Knots.     Tribe,   Ainu   (Saghalin).     Length,  10   c 

Cat.  No.  ,%• 

Fig.     3.  —  Carved  Bone  Knife-Case.     Tribe,  Ainu  (Yezo).     Cat.  No.  j^j. 
Fig.     4.  —  Dagger  in  Case.     Tribe,  Ainu  (Yezo).     Cat.  No.  -fW 
Figs.  5-9.  —  Ceremonial  Drinking-Sticks.    Tribe,  Ainu  (Saghalin).    Cat.  Nos.  T|^,  T!^>  iJf 

•rilir,  "ri$T- 
Figs.  10-20.  —  Ceremonial  Drinking-Sticks.     Tribe,  Ainu  (Yezo).     Cat.  Nos.  i§,  |£,  Is,  29,  1 


PLATE  XXXII.     (See  pp.  74-76.) 

Fig.     i.  —  Painting  on  an  Elk-skin  Legging.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  -j-Ys  a- 

Fig.     2.  —  Embroidery  on  Elk-skin  Boot.     Tribe,  Orochon  (Ussuri).     Cat.  No.  ^\  a. 

Fig.     3.  —  Painting  on  Collar  of  Fish-skin  Garment.     Tribe,  Orochon  (Ussuri).     Width,  9  cm. 

Cat.  No.  -aVo- 
Fig.     4.  —  Painting  across  Top  of  Fish-skin  Leggings.     Tribe,  Gold.     Cat.  No.  7V's  a. 

PLATE  XXXIII.     (See  p.  76.) 

Painting  on  Back  of  a  Fish-skin  Garment.     Tribe,  Orochon  (Ussuri).     Full   length,    106  cm. 
Cat.  No.  T. 


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